Haven't given a rub rail any though, but as the gunnels have quite a inward slant I would guess rope would work best. I used brass on my last boat, but the gunnels were perpendicular to the dock/water.
As for cushions, cut to fit are not that hard to make. Cutting the foam might be the hardest thing. I took a pattern to the foam supplier and the custom cut the foam. If you make them though, don't make the mistake I did, be sure and have your foam 3/4-1" bigger that the planned cushion.
I'm thinking of placing a flush mounted light on one the cockpit panels as well as removable running lights. I'd control them through a switch panel.
You guys have a great long weekend.
For me, it's off to the Pacific Northwest for a family weekend.
Robert, I hope your build is coming along fine for you. I have a question about trailers. I think I'll have to use a swing away trailer tonque attatchment so the peeler will fit in my garage. West Marine has 3 different models depending on tonque size. They are made by Fulton and run about $100. I've plenty of width but only 18 1/2 ft of useable length. When you get your boat finished and on a trailer, maybe you would measure the total length from trailer ball to back of outboard (upright position). I'm planning on a 9.8 hp motor. I'd hate to remove the motor after each use so maybe the swing tonque would give me the xtra room. They say you can swing up to 3 feet of the tonque. CLC measured their peeler on trailer and came up with about 18ft. They said the boat was sitting pretty much where it had to be for the proper tonque weight. Do you know the total length of the trailer you recently bought? Thanks. Any information will be appreciated. Ken.
Another thing, is the Peeler big enough to require a tongue winch, not sure how that would affect the OA length of the trailer. I've looked at the pros and cons of carpeted bunks vs rollers for this boat. Any ideas?? Thanks, Ken.
The Magic Tilt trailer for my Peeler is exactly 18ft in length. I'm sure the boat will sit back of this length some for balance and motor clearance. It came with a winch - I think it will be necessary to have one as the Peeler is getting heavier and w/motor,gas,battery and supplies on board it will be to much to just pull onto the bunks. I have just center rollers in back and front w/two long bunks. to support the boat.It does have side bunks to keep it centered on the rollers.
I haven't been able to work on the boat during the past week but have my purple heart skids epoxied down and will sand the remaining squeeze out and apply next coat of epoxy to the bottom tomorrow.
I will have to keep my Peeler outside for storage as my garage isn't big enough for any other woodworking with it inside - and it only fits in horizontally. (it is only 18ft deep and the boat and trailer will be longer than this I believe.) I will make ash or fiberglass battens that bow up from side to side covered with a uv breathable waterproof fabric/canvas. I don't have to worry about snow loads here. I would like to build a hard cover for it next summer.
Here is my latest photo - I have installed the purple heart skids to the bottom of the Peeler and filleted the joints. I tapered them on their forward edge - I've never extended skids as far forward before but John said this is how they will come with the kit. Of course the skid material will be different - I just happened to have the purple heart on hand.Next - finish epoxy on bottom - prime - paint bottom - side-etc. etc. etc. Lots of work left to do.
The skids are long. What are the splash rails John was talking about? He said the water was creeping up the sides near the transom when moving quite fast. Or, are these skids what he was talking about?
My understanding is that the skids are for helping the flat bottom boat stay on track and not slide sideways quite so easily in a turn. The spray rails run above the chine out of the water and simply knock down water splashing up from the bottom before it wets the passengers. Spray rails can run anywhere from the bow back to the mid section - to full length or to ones that run from just mid boat aft. I've seen many different configurations and so I think I will wait until using the Peeler for awhile to see which mine requires. It's easier to add sprail rails after the boat is completed than adding runners/skids to the completed bottom.
I realize my previously posted pictures are not displayed now. For some reason my Picasa account began deleting photos whenever I added any new ones to an album. I don't see any way to now edit my forum posting to relink pictures to re-posted pictures on Picasa.
Does anyone know how many Beta Kits are out there for the Peeler? Its been a while since I've heard anything new about this boat, except for Robert Meyers' input. Just getting anxious for the boat to be available. Will the other Beta builders share photos and progress reports? Thanks, Klitz.
Yes, I've been remiss in not keeping everyone up to date on this project. Here's the whole story:
We built one over the winter, did months of testing in the spring, and by mid-June had finalized what will be the production version of the kit. The only notable changes in the design from start to finish was an increase in the thickness of the bottom. (As built it was fine for smaller outboards, even in abusive settings, but for a 15hp needed more weight.) That, and the addition of spray rails at the aft quarters.
Along the way Robert consented to let us experiment on him with an early version of the kit, sans instructions. His was the only non-CLC Peeler prototype. Robert's looks great and the feedback was invaluable, of course, though he's out ahead of us on some of the options...
So that brought us up to June 2012, at which point we had a finished design, hundreds of construction photos, plans, the accurate kit parts ready to start cutting on the CNC machine and....no instruction manual. If you've picked up a CLC kit in recent years you know we suffer over these manuals. At the moment we're just bottlenecked on getting the comprehensive how-to-build manual completed and to print. It's coming but still weeks away as I write this. We'll certainly bang the drum loudly when that's done.
Thanks for the update John. I'm sure the manual takes hours and hours of proofing and fine tuning so it is accurate. Your company's accuracy and attention to details is why I'm going to build the Peeler. I'm sorry if I sound like I'm rushing the process, I really would rather wait until next spring for the final product if it takes that long. I appreciate your fine designs, keep up the good work. Ken.
