Weems & Plath Atlantis Barometer. Dial: 4", Overall Diameter: 5½", Depth: 2⅞". It mounts to a bulkhead with three #4 x ¾" brass screws.

I've been putting tablets of archaea microbes ("Bilge Shark") from Microsorb in the bilge to breakdown any oil.

Garelick 55008—8' long x 1" diameter. Bought 4/2013. Lifetime hook warranty. Hook snapped 6/2014 and Garelick replaced the hook.

Vessel Name — 8" high x 36" wide (navy blue). Font is Goudy LT Handtooled.

Hailing Port — 4" high x 28" wide (navy blue)

Z*Spar 64 Medium Green. Also used to paint the cove stripe. (2007)

Repainted in 2020. The Z*Spar paint is no longer available, so switched to Petit Easypoxy (EZPoxy) Topside paint 3348 Jade Green. (RGB=[0,70,60])

The horseshoe buoy uses this same color for its lettering.

2026 Used Sea Hawl Biocop TF black. The yard also painted on 3 quarts of Interlux InterProtect 2000E to try and get the paint to stick to the Woolsey Gold.  2024 Used Pettit Triton black.

Never use Pettit HRT!!! It grew barnacles that covered the entire bottom in two months (2022). A recoat with new paint had similar problems.

It takes five quarts to paint the bottom with one coat.

I put on a barrier coat of Woolsey Gold in 1999 (3 gallons). Incredibly hard stuff. To get the bottom paint to stick, Pettit recommended "scratch sanding", i.e., leave scratch marks, with 80-grit paper.

The boot stripe gets painted after the bottom paint

Instructions for hauling and launching Willow.

After getting pooped a few times and one knockdown, I decided to build a proper bridge deck in the cockpit. Here are a few photos and words describing the process.

On top of the bridge deck I placed a Treadmaster non-skid pad to make it safer entering and leaving the cabin. The Treadmaster pad is 550mm x 135mm held down with PSA. I replaced the original Treadmaster in 2026.

Weems & Plath Atlantis Quartz Clock. Dial: 4", Overall Diameter: 5½", Depth: 2⅞". It mounts to a bulkhead with three #4 x ¾" brass screws.  I had a problem with it that it would stop working with high humidity. It turned out to be poor copper contacts in the battery connection to the electric motor. I tinned the PCB tracks and it seemed to fix the problem (09/2023).

I found a replacement clock movement from Dans Clock Shop. The part number is DCS46. Weems & Plath told me that there is no replacement and offered to sell me an entirely new chronometer. The replacement cost $21 (2025) including shipping from the UK. Perfect fit! The mechanism is held in by two plastic clips and two strips of double-sided tape between the mechanism and the back of the clock face. (2025)

Bow mooring cleats: 10", 4 5/16" bolts each, backing plates of 6" x 4"

Stern mooring cleats: 10", 4 5/16" bolts each, backing plates of 4½ x 4"

Main halyard cleat: 7", 2 bolts

Jib halyard cleat: 7", 2 bolts

The awning uses a collapsible pole at the aft end that attaches to the mizzen mast and to the mizzen's upper shrouds. The pole is a Forespar "Pole Tap 4-8" (504000). It extends from 4' to 8' and is 1" in diameter. The pole ends are replaceable with kit 504003.

I built a new awning in 2024. With it, I added removable sun shades on the port, starboard, and aft sides. The three separate shades attach to the awning with common sense fasteners. The awning bottom edges attach with paracord to the lifelines. The paracord color indicates the shade location: red for port, green for starboard, and white for aft. The shade material is Phifertex Plus Vinyl Mesh Black (92.5% shade factor). The shades are in a white sail bag in the starboard locker.

In 2023 I made new cockpit cushions. The cushion tops and sides are Sunbrella Seamark Oyster (Sailrite 2101-0063). The bottom is Super Grip Nonslip Cushion Underlining Black (Sailrite 122530). The cushions have Forest Green piping around the top edge. The underlining really works well at stopping the cushions from sliding off the cockpit seats when heeled.

Replaced the BottomSiders cushions with some made by Aureus Custom Canvas in 2016. The fabric was Phifertex Plus Grey Sand #3007163. I used 2" flow-through (EZ Dry) foam. They work OK, but the water pools under the cushions and everyone gets a wet bottom. Next time, I'll go back to the closed-cell foam.

Recovered the BottomSiders (see below) with Phifertex Plus Upholstery #997108 Grey Sand. On the cushion bottoms, I stitched on some carpet non-skid material.

Bought BottomSiders (May 2000) 1.5" thick closed-cell foam. They work nicely, but there are a few issues with them:

• They shrink in size when left out in the sun. The original tight fit is no longer there. My best guess is that over 3' they shrunk in length about 1".
• They stain easily with air pollution dirt. Mine are very dingy looking (2004).
• They are very slippery when wet.
• They don't stay put very well when the boat is heeling.

According to BottomSiders, they recommend trying to clean the stains with Tilex or a solution of 25% bleach, 25% vinegar, and 50% water. Before talking with them, I tried mineral spirits (no effect) and MEK (cleaned it instantly, but softened the covering paint). Krylon also makes a spray (Revitalizing Vinyl Spray) that may work for recoating the cushions.

Here are some color coordinates for some of the fiberglass and Formica colors:

For the cockpit faded gel coat match, I found that the ratio of 20cc white gel coat, 2 drops of brown tint (Tenax Brown), and 1 drop of yellow tint (Tenax Yellow) yielded the closest match (Lab 91.6, 1.5, 6.9) with a ∆E of 1.4. For the unfaded area, 20cc white gel coat, 1 drop brown, and 1 drop yellow gives a ∆E of 1.7.

Runners on the cabin top: 6061 aluminum strips 63" x 2" x 3/16", polished

Underside of companionway hatch has fiberglass sliding surfaces. I added low-friction fiberglass tape (PTFE plastic face) to make sliding easier (McMaster-Carr 9222N134).

Some notes on building interior cushions:

Foam

• I used 2045 foam for the cabin seats and 1234 for the seat backs. The 2045 number is a density of 2.0 lbs./ft³ and a compression of 45 lbs. The 1234 number is a density of 1.2 lbs./ft³ and a compression of 34 lbs.
• The settee seats are 5" thick and the settee backs are either 2" or 3", depending on the location.
• I added 1/2" to each side of the cushion compared to the template dimension. For example, if the template's dimensions are 24" x 36", adding 1/2" to all sides makes it 25" x 37".

Sewing

• Make the top and bottom plates the same size as the foam (i.e., no seam allowance).
• Make the boxing the foam thickness plus 3/8" added to each edge. Most sources say to use 1/2", but I found that it looked better with a 3/8" allowance.
• For all sewing, use a 1/2" seam allowance. For the plates, this will mean that the final product is a little less tall than the foam material.
• For the zipper boxing, make it the same width as the standard boxing, plus the width of the zipper tape. The #5 zipper width is 1
  1/8" and the #10 zipper width is 1 1/2". The zipper plate is then cut in half lengthwise and a strip of boxing is sewn on to each side of the zipper tape.
• I use alligator clips to hold the material together while I'm sewing. Staples also work, but they are a pain in the ass to remove afterward, especially if one gets buried in the seam. I bought 10 alligator clips from Digikey and they're more than enough for any project. Just remember to get large ones.

Strange places for deck leaks that I've solved:

• Deck scupper screw holes. Some of the drilled screw holes penetrated through the fiberglass. The screws were not bedded in anything, and water leaked through the bottom of the hole. I bedded the screws in 3M 101 and stopped the leaks.
• Deck scupper. On one of the scuppers, there was a 1" x 1" x ½" void around a screw hole. again, water leaked into the void and then leaked through a crack in the glass out of the fiberglass tube and into the quarterberth. I filled the void with West System epoxy/404 and stopped the leaks.
• Port side coaming. The edge where the coaming and the fiberglass deck meet was leaking and running along the headliner into the quarterberth. I dug out the old bedding compound, carved a groove all down the length, and filled it with 3M 101. I used masking tape to give a good edge to it. This stopped the leaks.
• The piano hinges for the cockpit lockers were leaking through all the screw holes, There was not any bedding compound  sealing the screw holes. I rebedded everything and the leaks stopped.

Standard Operating Procedure for deck hardware:

• Remove any core wood from around screw holes
• Back-fill with an epoxy mixture with thickener
• Counter-bore deck to make a small concave area at the top of the screw hole. I use a conical grinding bit in the drill. This forms a gasket with the caulk around the screw instead of being squeezed out.
• Use 4200 for bedding, including all the screw threads
• Tighten it down
• Clean up with mineral spirits. Don't use acetone — it stops the 4200 from fully curing.

I built the dodger in 2022 using the previous frame. I switched the color to Basil (4688) from Sea Spray (4611, no longer available). I made a few changes:

• Added an aft grab rail welded to the frame
• Added a pocket to the port and starboard wings for the traveller lines
• Added reinforcement leather/chafe guard at side hand rails
• I used PTFE thread (Sailrite clear PTFE lifetime thread #107128)

Old dodger made by Shadetree Canvas, Baltimore MD (2004). The Sunbrella colors are #11 (4611 or 6011) Sea Spray for the body and #37 Forest Green for the binding tape (3/4" width). I replaced the YKK zippers with RIRI Decor zippers (not carried anymore by Sailrite 2021), which hold up better to UV. Sunbrella cleaning instructions.

Sunbrella Sea Spray no longer available. Suggested replacement is Basil (4688). Sunbrella describes this as Pantone 624C (Lab: 62, -16, 3; RGB: 120, 158, 144).

Dodger measurements:

Cowls are 4" wide at the base (threaded) and 12" high. The scoop opening is 8.5" in diameter. The base it screws into is 7" in diameter. I painted the inside of the dorade cowl vents with Rust-O-Leum Hunter Green (2016).

The dorade box itself is approximately 21" long by 10.5" wide and 5.75" high. The drain holes (also cockpit lockers) use Heyco 2127 (marked SB-875-11 White) grommets. Available directly from Heyco.

I created a drill bit kit for the bits needed for tapping and clearance bits. The bits are stored in a roll-up pouch. The following table shows the bits used for each bolt/screw size (coarse size, only):

Flag is 24" x 36". Flag is seized to the mizzen topping lift. I was using Annin flags, but they only seem to last a year. For 2022, trying a US Flag Factory SolarMax nylon flag #923 (failed spectacularly).

The following fabrics and supplies are used on Willow:

2 10.5" x 30" hunter green Super Gard from Taylor Made, model 954128 (2011, 2019)
    Line —New England Rope Regatta Light 3/8" single braid polypropylene (NE-1277-09, teal)

Fender covers: Boat Blanket Gray, 1 yard covers two 10.5" fenders.

Sewing information:

• Used Sailrite clear PTFE lifetime thread
  • Use #18 DI needle
  • Increase bobbin tension since the thread is very slippery
  • Thread size is equivalent to V-92
• To calculate the fabric needed
  • The length is the distance from eye to eye on the fender, measured to the circumference of the eye closest to the fender body.
  • The width is the fender circumference + 2".
• Sew 1" wide Velcro (hook side only) to the length of the material on the length edge.
• Add darts on each end to bend the fabric towards the fender eyes
  • Number of darts/side = circumference / 6
  • The distance between darts = circumference / (number of darts + 1)
  • Darts are 3" long and form an isosceles triangle with a base of 2"
  • Sew the two equal sides of the isosceles triangle together, folded around the center dart line.
  • Cut off the excess dart material.

1 18" diameter Taylor Made Tuff End #61149

1 23" (58cm) Scanmarin A-4 Red (new 2023). The former one failed.

Foredeck - cored with balsawood. Thickness is ¾". The main support in the center of the deck is 1 5/8" thick with wood (not end-grain) core.

Hull thickness in the bilge area at the engine water intake - ¾"

The hats on Willow are Adams Caps LP102, khaki/forest green. The hat's embroidered logo is 4"x0.75", three colors (red, black, green), 8,000 stitches.

The lanyards on Willow are Solomon Bars (Cobra Knot) made with paracord. (see Ashley Book of Knots, #2496). A good lanyard length is an overall length of 5"

Under the liferaft is a small locker that contains a spare water (coolant) pump, a fuel transfer pump, and a spare propane regulator.

In 2022 I purchased a collapsible mast ladder from Kinleven Marine. The ladder can be used with both the main mast and the mizzen mast. It uses sail slides to secure the center webbing to the sail track as I hoist the ladder with a halyard. The sail slides attach to the center webbing with cable ties (Hellermann Tyton T50R6C2 blue and T50R8C2 gray).

When I go up the ladder, I use a climbing harness with a klemheist knot attached to a spare halyard and to the harness. I also use the Kinleven Marine Pole Strap so that my hands are free to work on the mast.

Nicro 3" Day/Night Solar Vent (model N20703S). 700 CFH. New 11/2009, motor failed 2024. Old one failed after nine years. The motor is a 35.5mm diameter DC brush motor with a 2mm x 13mm shaft. From what I can tell, it's a 3V motor made in Japan. It spins CCW as viewed from the shaft side.

I replaced the motor with one from Amazon (Uxcell A18110700UX0482). The motor is smaller in diameter and height. I wrapped strapping tape around the circumference to make it the right diameter. To make up the height difference, I used SDR 21 1" PVC pipe,  9mm high. The motor spins CW, not like the original motor.

We carry the following solvents on Willow and any notes about their usage:

*The solvents are behind the galley sink in squirt bottles.

The solvent containers are in the cabinet behind the commode.

Link to more information on Caulks & Solvents usage.

Used for acetone, alcohol, and mineral spirits. I use squeeze bottles from McMaster-Carr (4034T45). 16 oz.

Some miscellaneous tools:

• Makita electric drill (DF330D). The batteries are BL1013. The charger is a DC10WA.

Nicro 10863 3" diameter, 4" high. 3.75" hole. Replaced both in 2024.

Figures are for a mixture with the consistency of "peanut butter"

To figure out how much epoxy to use, the following equation from Gougeon can be used:

Gallons (mixed) = A * (0.0075 + 0.00085 * W)

where
    A - surface area in square feet (ft²)
    W - fiberglass weight in ounces