Overnight in the Weekend

[T. Nelson Surbrook]

The morning dawned clear and windy on Lake Ceour d' Alene. My plan was to sail as far as I could in one day, spend the night and return the next day. I have had the boat for three years now and I have never spent the night in her. I started out at 7am from the marina at the resort and headed down the lake. After 12 hours of sailing into a head wind I had gone 26.4nm according to the GPS. I found a nice spot to anchor for the night and after making the boat fast to the shore and the anchor I broke out the coffee and watched a spectacular sunset. Now I am 6' 2" and a full 200lbs so you could say I am kind of a big guy. I won't try to sleep on the Weekender again because I like to stretch out while reclining and this can't be done on the boat. So I didn't get a real good nights sleep. When I awoke this morning I prepared to take off and got things set. I figured if it took 12 hours to get there I should get a early start back. At 5am I started back and when I got in the main part of the lake the wind was howling with nice waves. It was abaft all the way back and I was able to set wing on wing with the genoa, it was beautiful and a few times the GPS read 6.3kts. I think this is the fastest I have had the boat. Most of the sail back was between 5.5 and 5.8kts. I made it back in 2 1/2 hours. It turns out that I was only about 10 nm down the lake because the total for the trip was 36.4 nm. All in all it was a fun weekend in the Weekender but for us big guys it was not real good to sleep on.

[aeaton]

Tom, You should get busy and build that Hartley 21. You would fit just right in that one. Also it would be a little faster for more thrills.

[capt jake]

Awesome! I wish could have mine out to enjoy the same.

Maybe when I get the sails we can get together?.

[Barry Pyeatt]

Other than being uncomfortable for sleeping, sounds like you had an excellent outing.

Overnighting is going to be a challenge for me as well. At 6'2" and a bit heavier than you, I too am going to find it a difficult boat to get comfortable in when sleeping. I'm still trying to figure where there can be a port-a-poti room for two adults to sleep and some degree of privicy when camping. The boom tent is the only option I can think of that will expand the space for overnighting. By the time there is a nice foam cushion on the floor, the space gets quite a bit smaller and substantially more intimate. :oops:

But then I was planning on building a Vacationeer as well. :roll:

I'm looking forward to coming East to Lake Ceour d' Alene to sail. Should be a nice trip. perhaps next summer.

[Mike Pennington]

Good for you Tom,

I had to think back to remember the conversion factor between the nautical mile and statute mile of 1.15 :roll: 6.3 x 1.15 =

call it 7.3 statute (land or inland waterways) miles per hour

I want one of those GPS for Christmas

How fast will our hulls let us go? Weekender and Vacationer, anyone know?

I think I have been there, or close, but I have know idea what that speed is.

Barry, you have me thinking about that boom tent. I should go back and look at that post again. The mosquitos have been greatfully absent so far this summer. But a planned trip to Hidden lake this August could be mean. I bought a role of screen last week to fashion an inner seal for the hatch way.

But I would like a cover that would slip over the whole mast/boom configuration while in trailer mode. Due to all the rigging it might as well go over the rubrails and chainplates. I suppose I am dreaming about this one, but a boat cover for traveling sounds good.

While sailing these past few weeks I have been rained on a couple of times. No big deal spread a tarp and wait it out if the weather turns into a down pour. I wish I had bought a loose footed mainsail now, because it would be easier to tent a tarp. With the mainsail down, one has the peak halyard to deal with. I have been running a line under the boom for now. I was thinking of a cover to go over the boat while the mast was up and the sails on for when I leave the boat on the water too. :roll:

Right now the Aurora is getting wet out on Harding Lake. In the morning I get to go bail Though now that I have battery power on board I could buy a bilge pump now :idea:

The first thing I installed was a FAN, Oh the luxery on a hot day below.

Keep on building or sailing my friends, life is good. Mike

[T. Nelson Surbrook]

Barry you really should make the trip over and enjoy the inland lakes. Cd'A is just beautiful and plenty big enough for our boats.

[Stuart Benbow]

Granted, I'm not done building yet, but the sleeping aboard thing is something I've put quite a bit of thought into as I'm 6'1. The rest of the family could fit in a shoebox and be happy (wife 4'8, and kids are around 3 and 2' so far, though growing fast).

Along with the rig change, I took a page out of a fellow builder's book and built (ok, the pieces are cut, but not permanently installed until I add another coat of paint to the cabin) a bridgedeck. That way, I've got sleeping room in the cockpit and the cabin for my length. In the cabin, there is about 15" of height at just above my knee level when I lie down, and I raised the cabin sides by 4", and increased the arc of the roof so I've got sitting headroom.

The boom tent is something I'm definitely going to have to work on once I've built the aft mast and mounted the boom(s) (still deciding on whether to use a boom or a boomless gaff on the foresail) so that the whole family can sleep aboard on the very rare occasions when it's necessary.

An accidental benefit/inconvenience depending upon how you look at it is the mast location, and a 4x4 stump that supports the bridgedeck at the center at the new location for the cabin bulkhead. They should be at about the right spot to keep my wife from rolling onto my side of the bed and accidentally capsizing us while we sleep.

Note: I'm going to have a few pannels that fit across the footwell of the cockpit to make it a big bed at night.