High C

Oh Yeah! A beauty! :!:

Bob, thanks for this, and all your other fascinating posts.

Fabulous!

Hey hey! Very nice, and congratulations. Now go get her dirty!

Heh heh.... :wink:

Ken, regarding the rubrails, here's how I did mine: 1) finished and painted the hull first 2) painted the rubrails (different color) before installing 3) glued (Gorilla glue) the lower rail in place, with screws behind, not easy 4) caulked with a tinted caulk to keep water from getting under the rail and perhaps into the screw holes. I used a water based caulk which was easy to work in and wipe neatly with a wet rag. 5) upper rail, I thought should be less permanent since it's the one that takes abuse. The lower rail may never touch anything. I prepainted the deck and the rail, then set it into a bed of NONADHESIVE caulk (Polyseamseal) and drove screws from above into the framing under the deck. They can easily be removed for repair or replacement. Here's a pic of my rails:

I bought an old fashioned bronze garboard drain plug that has a threaded plug. I have put off installing it, hate to drill that big hole :shock: , but will do so soon. I'll epoxy the exposed wood grain inside the hole, then set the thing in 5200. I like the solidity of it. There's no way for it to accidently come out.

Definitely finish the hull first, and be sure to bend the chain plates to the correct angles, as in the plans, so they point towards the tip of the mast. I highly recommend the dead eyes, too! They are so quick to adjust, which you have to do every time you raise/lower the mast, and look great, too. Much easier than turnbuckles.

Yes! Paint everything you can as soon as you can on the interior. It's much harder to get to later. :cry: Looking good!

Way to go, BJ, and good news, the cockpit is the hardest part!

Hi Laura, and welcome. I have a Weekender, and I sure do like the looks of the Skipjack, too. I look forward to seeing your work as it progresses.

Hi, Phil! Welcome.

Thanks, Dave, and welcome to this nifty little spot on the WWW. 8)

Hi Bob! Hi Erster!

Thanks Frank. You're doing a fine job.

I wouldn't go anywhere near open ocean in a Vacationer, or any other unballasted, flat bottom boat. It's just not suited to that kind of use. Round bilges, a deep keel, and lots of lead ballast are needed to keep a boat upright in heavy winds and seas. Much like Ray, I have two boats, a Hunter 30 for open water (even with that, I stick close to the coast) cruising, and my Weekender for trailering to new, distant waters. There may be an easily trailerable boat that would be safe in the ocean, but I can't think of one. There are, of course, daredeviles and sailors of tremendous experience who do sail in bluewater in somepretty marginal boats, but for the average Joe sailor, it's too dang risky.

Mine are varnished teak, bedded with Sikaflex 291, and no, I don't use them. :oops: But the boat wouldn't look right without 'em.

Very nice Capt. Trey! And from nearby waters, too. Maybe you should keep the Gulf Coast our little secret. :wink:

:cry:

Ahhh, now I see, the problem occurs sailing downwind when you let the main go way out. I hadn't encountered that yet. I am concerned about the contact with the shrouds, since mine are rope, Spectra, so abrasion could be a problem. Forgot to log in before, I'm the "guest". Thanks!

Hi Mike! Wow, that doesn't sound like enough weather to have capsized a 55 footer. :cry:

So the concensus seems to be about 14' to the mast tip, and 18' to the gaff tip. The next time a bridge tender challenges my short stick, I'll tell him 19' to be sure. Thanks!

I just made a sail cover, with my wife operating the sewing machine, from a kit frim Sailrite.com. It's made od Sunbrella, which is heavier than Dacron sailcloth. It took a special heavy needle, but was not too difficult. The hardest part is handling the large pieces of cloth.

Does anyone know the height of the Weekender, from waterline to the tip of the gaff, which is the highest point when the main is up? How about from the waterline to the tip of the mast, the highest point when the sail is NOT up. The other day I hailed a bridge tender to open, and he asked me the height of my rig. I had no idea, :oops: so I said "two". He said back "two what?" And I said, "too tall to make it under your bridge." He let me through.

So do you have your Vacationer plans yet? :wink: