Lightning Sail Boat by dsmith65 - Dumas

[dsmith65]

I first started the build at least 16 years ago.  It was my first attempt at building a wooden model, and I struggled.  When I accidentally cut the mast in half, thinking I was trimming down the boom, the model went on the shelf.  Seven years ago, I went on line and reordered the plans and instructions for it, in case I decided to try and finish it.  Then while on vacation in Maine I discovered Bluejacket, and have now built 3 boats of increasing difficulty, and have also watched a ton of YouTube.  Now I feel like I have the skills to repair what I sptarted and finish the boat.  I reached out to Dumas and was able to order a replacement mast, their customer service was first rate. I recently stepped down from being involved in a Scout Troop, and now have some extra time to work on this boat.

 

I originally chose the Lightning all those years ago, because when I was in college I worked at a summer camp for a summer on the water front. We had a Lightning I'd sail on my days off.  My son latter went to that camp, and so we are going to name the boat after his favorite cabin "BEAR".  I haven't figure out yet how I'm going to display it, but I have a few ideas.

 

Here are some pictures of where things stand.  First tasks are to fill all the holes and gaps, redo the rub rail around the transom.  Re glue loose boards, especially in the cockpit, and get the hull painted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I found the original instructions I thought were lost.  As you can see it was so long ago they were typed up, the new nice booklet is underneath them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are gaps in the joins, and holes near the bow.  The foredeck also isn't glued down in spots.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More gaps to fix.  Although it is hard to see, I could never get the rub rail to match the curve of the transom.  I didn't know you could steam or heat wood to bend it back then.  I'm going to remove the rub rail and steam a new one and put it in place.

 

I'm not sure how long this build is going to take or how often I'll post, but I enjoy doing these build logs, even if it is for my own satisfaction.

[gsdpic]

Always good to see an old project revived and not abandoned or thrown out.

 

[Andrew J.]

Always happy to see a fellow Lightning builder! Looking forward to seeing the restoration.

[dsmith65]

I haven't had much time to work on the boat, so I do a little when I can.  First order of business was patching the holes and priming the boat for paint.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was then followed by making a new rub rail for the transom, using the spare one as a guide.  I soaked the wood and used an iron to heat it and bend it into place.  Also had to make a new skeg, because I kept breaking off the original when handling the boat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While all the seats were out of the cockpit I gave them 3 coats of varnish with a light sanding in-between coats. After the rub rail was installed I painted the deck and rub rails white, and the hull blue. Before reinstalling the seats, I added little tabs underneath where they but up against each other to glue them.  When I built them the first time I tried to glue the joints of this super thin mahogany, so I have CA glue residue everywhere.

 

 

A couple shots of the painted hull, and the new transom

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next I will move on to the tiller rudder assembly and then the start of the spars.  I am trying to decide on a color for the rudder, and if I want to maybe add a boot stripe, which I have seen on some Lightnings.  I'm pretty pleased with how things are going at this point, it is looking so much better.  The one thing I'd do different is seal the mahogany first with a wood sealer.  The primer didn't get that even, and the white paint isn't as "smooth" as I'd like after 3 coats.

 

Edited March 25, 2022 by dsmith65

[dsmith65]

Well, another 3 months have gone by, grand kids and kids visiting for an extended period, and new job got in the way of model building, but it is finally done save for the lettering for the name.  I tried some of those printer decals, but I must have the wrong ink, as it washed right off.  I got the mast and boom built and was quite proud of how the jack stays turned out, and surprised how well CA worked on them.

As you can see I also decided to try and size the sheets to the hardware rather than tie knots, it look marginally better.  The sail fastens to the mast and boom with dress hooks and after I got them on the sail I discovered some had CA in them. None of them were open enough to go over the wire on the mast, so I little bit of leveraging with a palate knife and a screw driver opened them enough. Rigging was fairly straight forward compared to what I've done in the past.  The instructions called for tying the main sheet to the boom then running it through the eyelets and and the hardware on the boom, but in the life size boat there is hardware at the base of the boom, that you tie on to, and then run back through, so I made my own.  It came out all right.

The boat doesn't come with a stand, and I thought about making a diorama or it beached on a lake shore, and someday I may do that.  But for now I made some saw horses for it to be stored on.

Here are a few final shots, this is a large boat, and overall I think it is the tallest one I've built, finding a home for it other than the dining room table is going to be a challenge.  

If you've made it this far, thanks for following along.  I have Blue Jacket's Lobster Boat I bought last summer to do next, but probably not until the fall.  I'll be up their way in August, so I plan on stoping in for my annual fix, and find something interesting to buy.

 

Edited June 28, 2022 by dsmith65