ROLLING PERFECTION
Recently we did a rather large paint job where the bubbles left by the roller refused to pop and the result was a very pock-marked finish that took a distressing amount of sanding to make smooth again.
Why did this happen? At first we weren’t sure, but now we feel the need to bring up two possible causes for paint-job disasters to be avoided.

Two things we learned are: The reactor (the smaller can) has a two year shelf life from date of manufacture. ptwatercraft.comWhile I’m sure I have successfully used paint that was older than that, if the reactor starts to thicken, don’t try to use it. There is a code on the bottom of the can, but you’ll have to call the phone # on the side of the can to get them to tell you what it means. Apparently Interlux will not provide the reactor separately.
The other thing we are learning is that over-thinning can also cause the bubbles not to pop. It seems like 15 percent thinner (as our book recommends) can be too much at times. We just did a large job thinned at 10 percent that came out amazingly well. While we have had excellent results in the past thinning up to 20 percent, that may have been an anomaly. We will update the Rolling Perfection book to discuss both of the above issues.

Using this paint with the roller only method can be relatively painless, satisfying, come out beautiful, and last forever. or, like any paint, it can all go wrong. There are so many factors that can influence a paint job. Our experience with this paint has been almost all positive, but one bad experience can be a wake-up call, especially for us, as we happen to sell a book on the subject.

Also, we haven’t used all the colors of Perfection and don’t know how that relates to handling and results.ptwatercraft.com
We do know that clear Perfection seems to need to be tipped and we know that some colors cover much better than others: In the whites, Matterhorn, which is darker, covers much better than the whiter whites and Platinum, which is a very light grey, covers even better. With Matterhorn and Platinum it’s possible to do a two-coats only paint job.

 

painting with a respirator

Remember that besides a good respirator, good ventilation is very important. If working indoors, an exhaust fan is key. The fan should be in one end of the shop and an open door or large window at the other end. This paint doesn’t smell for long, but when it’s going off it’s very bad to be around. RB.RP-masthead-float-G32

Retail businesses in WA will have received this recent notice from our Department of Revenue:

Starting July 1, 2019, retailers can no longer make tax exempt sales to nonresidents based on their residence (i.e. Alaska, Oregon, Montana). Instead, consumers residing in qualifying states, US territories or provinces of Canada may request a refund of state sales tax paid from the Department once a year. Please see our Special Notice for more information. https://dor.wa.gov/find-taxes-rates/retail-sales-tax/sales-nonresidents

I can only assume they are trying to accumulate less paperwork by asking eligible customers to keep track and submit only once a year. Thank you for your understanding. AEB 😉

 

There comes a time...

...when one feels the need to alter course. Russell and I started PT Watercraft in 2009, to create an outlet to share Russell’s vision for a really good nesting dinghy. Since then, he has built 8 boats to define the build process, take the right photos and to update the manuals. A major revision of the PT11 and Spear manuals has only just been completed. He has also built parts for approximately 175 kits, including 130 for the PT 11 nesting dinghy.

By Intention, our business model has been a small and custom operation. We are more creative in nature than business minded, so expanding to include employees and larger production has not attracted us. Instead, we have farmed out many aspects of our production to the abundant local talent found in Port Townsend.
The level of detail and care put into each kit has earned us a reputation that we are proud of: that our kits take the kit concept to a higher level than others, at a price, but at excellent value for the money. Unfortunately, this is also a business model that is difficult to sell. Yes, when we started, we thought we’d create the business and eventually sell it.

What we find is that with open ended shipping dates, we never seem to get ahead of stocking parts and getting kits out the door. There are no gaps between for writing books that we have promised our book customers, nor to develop new ideas. By re-organizing our shipping schedules, we hope to reserve time for these creative endeavors. This might mean fewer kits produced but our level of quality and service would remain high.

What are the actual changes at PT Watercraft?

We have had to raise our prices. This was a really hard decision for us. In an effort to keep our prices in some sort of league with similar sized boats, we have never paid ourselves very well for the labor intensive product we produce and materials and shipping costs just keep going up. On the other hand, we are not willing to ship a lesser quality product.

Because most of our kits are sold in Fall and Spring, we are considering to restrict shipments to specific time frames within those seasons. Deposits accumulated in Summer and Winter will largely dictate the number of kits we ship.

We are suspending all exports. Exporting has always cost us more with extra paperwork and materials (heavy duty crates, for example). Customers abroad pay increasingly more for shipping and import duties. It just does not feel right and we sincerely apologize to those outside of the US who were hoping to get a PT 11 kit. Canadians can make a road trip of it or we can ship to bonded shippers on our side of the border.

What is NOT changing?

Our customers are really important to us. We are here for you and will continue to work through this transition. We are dedicated to good service and creating the nicest kits we possibly can.
Please follow our blog as we trial new arrangements. Our home page now has a clear explanation of what makes our kits special. Further details are continued on the PT 11 homepage. The website may appear a bit haphazard for a while. I am shuffling things around and trying to simplify it all.
Thank you for your patience and support.

Ashlyn & Russell Brown
March 1, 2019

 

As per our new homepage: the full text: by Russell Brown

Understanding the PT 11 nesting dinghy
There are many nesting dinghy kits available, but our PT 11 dinghy kit is a bit different.
Because our kits are quite expensive, we would like to offer some explanation. We would also like to make sure that our kit’s are an appropriate choice for anyone thinking of building one.
We are long-time designers and builders of high-performance sail boats. Nesting dinghies have been a passion for more than 40 years, during which time our study of the compromises and possibilities have been a bit of an obsession. Many prototypes have led to the kits that we now offer.
Could we have created a simpler and more affordable boat? Of course we could have, but it wouldn’t have the qualities that make the PT 11 such a great boat.
What features make this boat special?
The ability to assemble and disassemble the boat in seconds, in the water or out of the water. The unmatched strength of the assembled boat, a challenge in nesting dinghy design.
The rowing performance of our boats is quite amazing. One was used in a 70 mile endurance race last year, finishing in the top third of a 120 boat fleet in under 20 hours, surprising for an 11 foot dinghy. An outboard motor is quite unnecessary when using the boat as a tender.
The sailing performance is very good. The stock foils (machined daggerboard and kick-up rudder) help the boat sail upwind like a 12 meter. The rig is the lightest and easiest to use dinghy rig on the market. The two-piece carbon mast and boom, sail, and all rigging weigh just 10 1/2 pounds, store in a small bag, and assembles in minutes, making a quick sail in a new anchorage easily done.
Other prominent features include a large truly watertight storage area, sealed flotation tanks fore & aft, and a very dependable daggerboard trunk cap that allows towing in rough water and at high speeds. Two rowing stations and multiple foot brace positions allow keeping level trim with multiple passengers and allow rowers of different heights.
These qualities are combined with many other well-thought-out features, some that make construction easier and many that make the boat easier to use, lighter, and more efficient.
What do we not like about the PT 11? It’s complex. While we have not over-engineered this boat and we continually work on making the build simpler, a really good nesting dinghy, especially one that could last forever, requires complexity. Much of that complexity is on our end. We manufacture many custom parts for the boat and we aren’t shy about expensive alternatives.
The fact that we have sold so many kits for the PT 11 with almost no advertising says a lot.
Builders of the 11 see the value of the kit, the manual, and the finished product. Resale values of well built PT 11’s also point to a well conceived product.
Is the PT 11 for you? If you are attracted to the boat and it fits your needs, then maybe. Are you right for the PT11? Probably, if the next sentences work for you.
If you want the performance that our kits offer and aren’t afraid to put in the effort and time required, if you look forward to a good winter or summer project, and are willing to carefully follow a very detailed building manual.
Building a boat can be a very satisfying and rewarding experience; an experience that is increasingly missing in modern times. We ask a lot of our builders, but they get a lot in return. They get the experience, a new set of skills, and in the end, they get a very versatile boat.
Because we have very high standards for what we want in a boat, we start with the best materials:
We hand pick through units of high grade Okoume plywood to find the best looking and flattest panels of five different thicknesses of plywood. This doesn’t mean it’s always perfect, but we choose the best available and it’s a wonderful material for this type of boat. Most of the plywood parts are CNC machined, but many of them are post-machined to bevel and round edges where appropriate. The lumber parts kit (foredeck stringers, glue cleats and reinforcements) are machined from high-grade Sitka Spruce. The foot braces, oarlock riser blocks, and back seat cleats are machined to a ready-to-finish level from Sapele mahogany.
We supply the best glass cloth of 3 different weights to protect and reinforce, while keeping the boat as light as possible.
Carbon fiber alignment clips, goose-neck fittings and fiberglass mast sockets are molded “in house”.
The foils are CNC machined from carefully selected Okoume plywood (2 layers of 12 mm Vacuum bagged together on a “flat table”) to make NACA section foils of almost 1” thick. For the weight and performance offered by these foils, they are relatively very affordable and not difficult to finish.
The machined 316 stainless connective hardware is machined by Paul Zeusche, an expert local machinist and boat builder. This hardware constitutes a large part of the value of the kit and is continually fine-tuned. We are extremely lucky to have some very smart friends.
The masts and booms are made in state by ICE, a maker of the highest quality carbon fiber tubes on the planet. The two-part mast and boom (almost 23 lineal feet of tapered custom carbon tubes) weigh just 6.7 lbs and that includes all the hardware and running rigging on the boom (5 Harken blocks, 2 snap hooks, 1 s-hook, 7 eye straps, 1 cleat, 37 feet of running rigging, and a goose-neck fitting.)
Many other parts and pieces are produced in our shop or locally. Besides the plywood, which is made in France, just about everything in one of our kits is made in the US.
The most valuable single piece of the kit is the building manual. We don’t encourage people without hand tool experience to build our boats, but the manual allows someone with no epoxy or boat building experience to build a really good boat.
It’s just the two of us running PT Watercraft, which means we can offer very good quality control and economy,
We are now completing our 8th PT 11, built to improve the manual and fine-tune the kits (as were the other 7). We do this so that our builders can get the most value, pleasure, and longevity from their boats. The kits and manuals for the PT 11 and PT Spear are getting better every year.

We have also been working on a video series with Off Center Harbor, showing the more technical parts of building a PT 11. These video’s will be available free to our builders. We hope builder will follow the blog for important updates.
Featured comment from March 2019: “ I would like to reiterate one point as far as the value is concerned: I've yet to float in my boat, but I'm confident it will work as designed. The money spent was worth it, just to have "taken the class" on working with epoxy, and stitch and glue boat building, getting a sweet boat at the end is of course a nice bonus. The manual describes such nuance of technique, I feel like an expert, despite limited experience with epoxy and glass. That said by a working guy on a budget.” A.S. Stowe Vermont

...

5 months after the 2018 Race to Alaska, I am finally getting a video published of Russell’s second leg to Ketchikan. I won’t deny that some of us were freaking out watching this race in the first 3 days as Russell pulled ahead of the leaders every day in spite of sleeping every night while the boats with multiple crew were underway non stop. It shows just how fast the Gougeon 32 catamaran can be in the right hands.

After that third day in Johnstone Straights, passing the lead boat, Team Sail it Like a Girl, Russell debated the sanity of what he was doing. That day had presented frustratingly light winds to sudden micro blasts that threatened serious harm, and after waking up Day 4 to total calm and contrary current, he waited for a favorable current and made the consious decision to focus on finishing without destroying the boat rather than trying to continue leap frogging to the lead.

There was a lot of pedaling done during this race; a lot of drifting, a lot of getting roasted in the sun. The multitude of drift logs, kelp rafts, and breaching humpback whales demanded that crews remain seriously alert. It was not until the 7th day of Russell’s race, that he had consistent wind all day. That was his 130 mile run from Aristazabal to Dundas Island where he kept his promise to himself not to sail in the dark. He regrets that choice only a little, mainly because he got badly bitten by black flies and in retrospect, he would have enjoyed wind had he just kept going.

His crossing of Dixon entrance was fair enough but the wind died as he entered Alaskan waters and that last stretch was grueling and wet with rain. Russell did not know who was nearby until he figured out that the high powered trimaran, Team Wright, was very close. That gave him the gumption to push harder, wanting to finish ahead of the bigger multi-hull. He succeeded but he was tuckered out from pedaling for hours by the time he stepped onto the dock. He spent his next few days nursing waterlogged feet...or, trench foot being another name.
He finished in the evening of his 8th day, counting from a noon start in Victoria to noon + 4 in Ketchikan and thus broke his own solo record from 2017 by a day. Happy to have made it, he remained humble and shy of the spotlight but I was pretty tickled he had done so well. The real joy of the R2AK for us, is the trip home and you can trust with me ever grabbing the camera, that there will be more photos and videos to sort though.
I hope to follow this video with some of those clips soon.  Follow the link below to see a video of Russell's 2018 race from Victoria to Ketchikan.

https://youtu.be/kubraaN57UI

Tracker screen shots highlight his daily progress.

ptwatercraft.com
June 17, day one. The purple track line is Russell's.
ptwatercraft.com
Day 2, Team PT Watercraft in the lead... a different view and scoreboard.
ptwatercraft.com
June 19th after a night stop on the north end of Hornby.
ptwatercraft.com
Reaching Seymore Narrows June 19th. I like how this shows the spread of boats.
ptwatercraft.com
Taking the lead again in Johnstone Straights; see video.
ptwatercraft.com
6:00am June 20th, Team PT Watercraft still tucked into an anchorage waiting for favorable current and some wind; allowing sanity to prevail, while other boats had struggled all night to make headway against the current...
ptwatercrfat.com
Russell passing Calvert Island June 22nd.
ptwatercraft.com
Russell makes Bella Bella by the end of June 22nd.

This was the last tracker shot I could save before racing myself to Seattle to catch a plane to Ketchikan. I had to be there for the finish!\

 

A.E. Brown

Google recently announced that if your website is not 'mobile friendly' then you are going to the back of the line. Essentially, they will not show your website in the search results unless someone types in your specific website address.  I have known for some time that my website, ptwatercraft.com, is not mobile friendly as they say. Thus when I got a call from a company promising a solution for a good price, I begrudgingly accepted. I will say that it took a very persistent salesman to wear me down. I was told they would use my own text from my website and I could request changes at any time. I already knew my site had issues and thought I would save some time...what was I thinking? (I wasn't, apparently)

The snap shot of boatkitsinseattle.com below is a site created by a third party and not my creation. I am working now to have it  removed from the web.
This is a snap shot of the repaired site but even repaired it feels alien.
This is a snap shot of the repaired site but even repaired it feels alien.

When I saw the site I cried. They did not have a clue what they were talking about and had taken way too many liberties in re writing my text to sound like a used car salesman...in the worst way.  I spent hours on the phone with them for changes only to have them tell me to 'agree' that my changes might adversely affect the visibility of my site on the web and effectively negating their responsibility to get top search results.  Not agreeing to that, I had to tone down my changes and in the "end" (of my patience) I asked them to terminate the service.  This fabricated persona was not worth a penny and in fact feels damaging.

I am learning something real here.. If it feels wrong in your belly, DO NOT let a salesperson change your mind. HANG UP THE PHONE! As I write this, I am disputing my 'contract' with this company, called Local Lighthouse, in S. California, and have sadly discovered that they are totally insensitive to their customers' satisfaction. They do not hear the word, terminate. They want their money in full, point stop. I do not know what the outcome will be but I have been seriously upset about it. I have had to re-write almost everything but within their parameters that I don't like, and I am still expected to pay them.  (They should pay me for the stress and time I have wasted.) (May the final outcome be happier....?)

Bottom line: If anyone saw or sees the site pictured above, I apologize. I may not be able to create as visible a site that the search engines especially like, but I would rather our name, Port Townsend Watercraft, is spread through referral from happy customers. We are clearly not selling used cars.

A mobile friendly interim site of my own making will be forth coming before the year is finished and it will represent the PT Watercraft that many have come to appreciate and respect. I send out warm thanks to all of my customers for their feedback, support, and the pride and joy they have taken in the boats they have built.  Ashlyn E. Brown

As an update, I finally did manage to persuade them to cancel the agreement. Yay...it took many many tries.

June & July 2015

There is a good reason we have a business based on boating. We love sailing! But what good is it if you only get to hear about others going on voyages? We have been pretty good about getting away from time to time but generally we keep those trips short. For 2015, we have been planning something bigger.
A sailing trip to the Queen Charlottes (HAIDA GWAII) has been on our radar for years and HG Mapthis Summer we know a few friends that are making the trip. After a year in the planning, we are going too, for what might be our last real trip on our sailboat Jzerro. (raising the FOR SALE flag)
This means PORT TOWNSEND WATERCRAFT will be closed from early June through late July.  I will have someone shipping out books during our absence. {UPDATE: for more immediate print book ordering, please see the links below}
I am bringing this up now because we do get some orders, primarily from the southern hemisphere, during the summer months. Besides that, it is a slow time for us

Jzerro in Port Townsend
Jzerro in Port Townsend

since most folks who get this newsletter in our hemisphere are on the water playing. So here is the plan;
-We will be shipping kits through May but the sooner we know about your order, the better. {All done here.}
-Some orders will go out in August. Again, the sooner we know about them, the better. {some are already on order. Yours can be too. See below for quick deposit instructions}
-We will be participating in the Port Townsend Annual Wooden Boat Festival in September and will be taking orders for shipping from October on. We hope to see you there!

ptwatercraft.com
Visitors study the PT 11 nesting dinghy

How can you secure a kit quickly? There is a quick deposit link (green box on the right hand side bar under the form links) on our ordering page. A hull number is assigned to names in the order deposits are received. Kits will ship in that order.

Upon our return we will go through all mail and reply in detail so please do email us! We apologize in advance if this timing inconveniences anyone.
The reality about this trip is that we do not expect to have access to internet or mobile phone coverage except on rare occasion. Yes, that is still possible. I am so excited!  (AEB)

Our print books are on AMAZON: But, beware of crazy prices in the "used" section. Our books new are priced under $20. There are likely to be delays getting builder's manuals shipped. Our apologies for this. Please use the BUY NOW buttons (not the order-form) on the manuals page and our trusty caretaker will get them shipped.

Epoxy Basics

Scarfing Basics

Sailor Sai Aboard Big Blue

The buzz continues... in fact, the buzz, bang, humm, crank, tweak....of shop machines and brain gears, can be heard behind closed doors!

Bieker designed proa in progress.
Bieker designed proa in progress.

Boats are being built! Locally, team Turnpoint Design is working on a catamaran. A Bieker designed proa is in the works, and Edensaw Woods is sponsoring a team, also building a catamaran. Sail, peddle drives, rowing stations, and combinations there-of are being carefully considered and applied to these boats.  What is most exciting about this race is that, given the prevailing conditions on the course, designers and athletes are challenged to make the most of their 'sail/human powered' boats. A creative force has been awakened and the fact that there are so few rules and filters on what types of boats can enter, we are likely to see all from kayaks to large racing yachts.

Current specs on registered participants HERE.

Small Craft Advisor Magazine, has an interesting feature discussion in the current issue. They asked the opinions of a number of respected characters about specific pros and cons regarding the Race to Alaska. As a sponsor, they also host a forum for the Race to Alaska,  among several others on several websites.

ptwatercraft.com
rowing in Desolation Sound
ptwatercraft.com
"Patos" in Desolation Sound. photo by owner

Enjoy Pictures recently received of boats launched this summer or boats in use. I love the new colors added to PT 11's; now sporting blue, green, sunny yellow, mellow yellow, cream, red, white...have I missed any? Beautiful!! Keep those pictures coming! What do you think about a photo contest???? Let me know and I will work on prizes to offer. 😉

PTWATERCRAFT.COM
Milo in his PT 11 that he and Cassandra built. See more on this project on another post called " Builder Spotlight 9/14" by clicking the photo.
PTWATERCRAFT.com
PT 11 "Forget me knot", Built in Maine and launched this summer. Photo by owner.
forget_me_not_a_PT11_sm
PT 11, 'Forget Me Knot' in New England.
ptwatercraft.com
Built by W. Frost in Renton WA. Photo by owner.
ptwatercraft.com
PT Skiff almost ready for launch. Note the solid aft floor soles. We think it looks fantastic and see this as the future standard for the PT Skiff. The owner also installed self bailing. We look forward to more pictures! Located in Australia. Photo by owner
ptwatercraft.com
Shiny green paint job by Mr. Kuntz of Sequim, WA. photo by owner
ptwatercraft.com
Paul's green PT 11 was launched at the Boat Festival this year in Port Townsend. Mr. Kuntz was able to leave it at the dock on display with the rig up by removing the batons and rolling the boom up in the sail. Click the photo to read about the Festival this year, 2014.
ptwatercraft.com
Joy enjoys a sail in her PT 11, 'Patos" T/T "Dromen".
ptwatercraft.com
"Patos" in Desolation Sound. photo by owner
ptwatercraft.com
Patos nested on the SV 'Dromen'.
ptwatercraft.com
Patos and Dromen in the marina. Photo by owners.
PTWATERCRAFT.COM
Mr. Mc Cormick's PT 11 in California.
PTWATERCRAFT.COM
Joe taking all the gear ashore.
PTWATERCRAFT.COM
"Rowff, Oneff, twoff, rowff"
ptwatercraft.com
PT Spear, 'Rascal' seen in front of Port Townsend. photo by Ashlyn E. Brown
ptwatercraft.com
Owners enjoy an evening row in 'Rascal', a PT Spear. Photo by Ashlyn E. Brown
ptwatercraft.com
Exploring the San Juan Islands in a PT 11 and a PT Spear. photo by Ashlyn E. Brown

On a recent camp cruising excursion to BC, we towed our PT 11 along behind the Water Bug. We did not take the sailing rig but we really enjoyed after dinner rows around the different anchorages. The evening light is so beautiful and on calm, clear summer days, the reflections in the water make you feel like you are looking into another world or floating along on the sky. It was mesmerizing. I put together some clips of these evening rows. I look at my wind swept and bedraggled state with some embarrassment but I had a great time out in the vast wilderness of Desolation Sound. Here is a short video: SKY ROWING ptwatercraft.comptwatercraft.com