|
A Family Project.
Ed MacLean, of Truro, Nova Scotia, sent these pictures and photos of his family’s Grace’s Tender.” The project was started in Late December of 2008. I involved my children from the start. It was a chance to teach them how to build a boat and learn how to use tools at the same time. The plans were great and the manual that went with the plans was very helpful and easy to understand. The boat is built to spec with no shortcuts. I used marine plywood and System-3 epoxy. The sail is top quality, made by Michelle Steven’s sail loft out of Lunenburg. The Family are very excited to launch this little sailboat, especially since they had so much input into the construction and finish. “Thanks, the MacLean’s (Ed, Donna, Allan, Brennan and Maggie)” May 30, 2009.
|
Hurricane Ike Rebuild.
These photos come from Al Meyer, who writes, “Stating the obvious, hurricanes don’t play nice with small boats. Wee Lass rode out Neptune’s Fury strapped to her trailer in a parking lot on the shores of Lake Conroe. When the storm hit, the wind was strong enough to pick up the trailer and swing it around 90 degrees to the truck. Later, after the eye of the storm passed, it picked up the trailer again and swung it around in the opposite direction. The most obvious damage was a split plank, some cracked knees at the center thwart, and a leak at the centerboard trunk. The yard and boom faired well, but the mast had several deep scratches and scores in it.“The split plank was repaired with a fiberglass and epoxy patch. Scratches and dings in the hull were sanded out where possible; deeper ones remain as ‘battle scars.’ A number of the wood cleats were damaged, and since I didn’t have any wood to match the existing ones, an entire new set was made. “Along with the rebuild some improvements were added, including a nicer set of oars, strops for all the blocks, and proper servings of tarred marline to replace the stainless thimbles for the blocks on the centerboard trunk and the tack downhaul. Although the boom wasn’t damaged, I had already planned on making one a little longer, to allow rigging a clew outhaul. “Repairs to Wee Lass were completed on April 19; she’s gone on a short rowing trip since then but hasn’t been sailed. She (and her owner) are anxious to get back on the water.” The bottom photo shows the trophy won by Wee Lass at the Keels and Wheels show. May 7, 2009.
|
Penobscot 17.
This photo was sent by Gregg Blackburn of Boston, Mass. He writes, “I am hoping to get a better action picture this summer, but here is last summer's pic. Thanks and once again I must gush over how precise your plans were and how well written the manual! If anyone ever asks for a reference I'd be glad to oblige.” Our thanks to Gregg for his kind comments, and congratulations on launching a fine craft!April 15, 2009.
|
Penobscot Progress.
Dan Spencer sent these pictures of his almost-finished Penboscot 17.He writes, “Just wanted to send you a couple of pictures of my Penobscot. I finished her up yesterday (on the vernal equinox - not to be superstitious or anything like that, I took a 1 Euro coin that I picked up in Ireland, rubbed it in my red-headed son’s hair for luck, and had him drop it in the mast step. Hopefully it will be a good thing). At any rate, I think she came out fine. I'm pretty excited about it! “ Next steps are to complete the epoxy work, finish sand, varnish and paint. With a little bit of luck, I might get her in the water by early summer (rigging and sails notwithstanding). “I hope to have some action shots for you later this year.” March 22, 2009
|
Turnover Day at Last!
We have been promising progress on the 30 ft sailboat we are building – after nearly two years, we were finally ready to turn the hull over on March 7. Sounds like slow progress, but we were encouraged to find that we have about 680 hours in the project so far. About one third of a year’s full time work – considering that we are about one third of the way through the project at this stage, that’s not too bad.To turn the hull we installed axles at the bow and stern, hoisted the hull on chain falls, and rolled it over. Ropes attached to frames amidships controlled the turn. The axis of rotation was close to the center of gravity, so the turn was easy to control. Before turning the hull we had to move it to the center of the workshop, which we did by moving the chain falls along the beams from which they were suspended, and swinging the hull across. We moved it back after the turn, the same way. The whole process took an hour, including taking down the beams. A fun afternoon, and great to see the hull right way up, at last! March 17, 2009.
|
Miss Lew-Lou
Orange is a small farming community in Virginia. It's about 1 1/2 hours to the nearest navigable water, has just about as many tractors, cows and churches as it does citizens, and a yacht club. Orange also has a Boys & Girls Club, which serves about 300 kids a year, including a number of children from less privileged single-parent families. What these two groups have in common is Grace's Tender.Brian Hall, commodore of the OYC, thought that building a boat and learning to sail it would be a character building experience for area kids. So, the yacht club pitched in to buy a kit, and twice a week after school a group of 8-11-year-olds met in Brian's garage to build what came to known as Miss Lew-Lou. The boat has become the talk of the town. It's been the subject of numerous articles, had a public christening, and has been on display, fully rigged, at the local art center gallery. Upon completion, Miss Lew-Lou became the official property of the kids. In the spring, Mr. Hall is arranging for Boys and Girls Club members to start sail training. Pictured from left to right are: R. T. Whitman, construction coordinator for OYC; Caleb Barnes, local youth awarded outstanding builder on the project; and Wayne E. Brown, a writer covering the christening of Miss Lew-Lou. March 5, 2009.
|
Another Sand Dollar
Alan Hockert, of Hixson, TN, started working on wooden boats as a hobby at the age of ten. “When I got out of the service, say about 22 years old, I got serious, and cannot remember a time when I wasn’t fixing one up. Retirement and boredom came about eight years ago, at which time I printed up some cards that said I could repair, restore, and refinish boats. I did this for about six years, and for most of it I was the only such guy in a 75 mile radius around Chattanooga. I still take on a small job from time to time. “Why Sand Dollar? Simply put, she suits my boating needs to a T, and anything longer would not fit in my shop. I live on the shore of Chickamauga Lake, part of the Tennessee River. I have a dock and a launch ramp, and a 1070 Simplicity tractor to get her there. So I’ll get to row or sail as I choose in a beautiful little boat that I built just for me.” Alan reports that he used poplar for the keel, stem, chines, rub rail and sheer clamps, philippine mahogany for the stem facing, and Honduras mahogany and poplar for the seats. The results are certainly pleasing! He has promised more photos of the boat under sail. February 3, 2009.
|
Sand Dollar
Lauren and Julian Elliott sent this photo, with this note:“Just wanted to send along a photo of my completed Sand Dollar. My son and I built it together and launched it a month ago. Its maiden voyage was rowing my wife down the Petaluma River from our marina to downtown - couple of miles there and back. It was one of the easiest rows I can remember, boat moved beautifully and received compliments all along the way. “Thank you for a great experience, got to think of my next boat!” February 3, 2009.
|
If you would like to see your boat featured here, send photos and a description of your project to Arch Davis Design, 37 Doak Road, Belfast, ME 04915. We would love to see them - we are always looking for good picture of boats under way!
|
