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buck

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  • Birthday 01/01/1

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    Dunedin, New Zealand

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  1. buck

    vacationer cabin

    Great thread Guys ! Brian I'll keep the sail height the same and take some sail area of the bottom of the mainsail. I do a lot of single handed sailing and I find the Weekender a bit overpowered in 20knots, Reducing the main works wonders. Mike, I you're right about changing one thing and having to change everything. I thought of raising the deck but you end up redesigning the whole boat! Raising the cabin is relatively easy as long as you keep the hull the same. One of the things I love about the Weekender is its ability to Gunkhole shallow creeks then go out and bust-up 4' seas and 20knot breezes whilst staying bone dry. (I can forgive windward performance for that) These boats show remarkable qualities in the short piling steep chop I sail in and seem to raise that safety margin just that little bit further than other similar boats. I think I'll make the swing down keel a little wider and less deep. Has any one got the position and dimensions of the original weekender one? I was going to just bolt it through the keel and have it sit on the outside. I'm not expecting to much windage problems from the raised cabin as I tried a similar thing on the Weekender without problems. Mike do you really row your Vactioner? Whats she like to sail?
  2. buck

    vacationer cabin

    Hi Guys Had to throw in my 5 cents. I'm quiet vexed over the vacationer cabin height, I like the look of the original but Stevensons cabins are too low for comfortable cruising. This is what I was going to do with my Vacationer:
  3. buck

    Amazing Mods!

    What great mods I'm going to do the Mast boot mod tomorrow. My Weekender lives in its dock, never leaks a drop but fills up with water whenever it rains, How such a small boat gets so much water in it i don't know but I suspect the mast is one culprit, another is the hole in the Lazerette which the tiller goes through. But I'd never be without that it has been excellent (though hard to see in the picture) and of course the oars. Weekenders are great and easy to row. I have rowed mine for miles, keeps you fit and is just so green it hurts. As for your poll, weither we like it or not we're the original greenies caring for the planet we sail on with our sustainable timber boats with our tiny outboards. Lets face it yer average weekender is just a little carbon sink! Great posts I really like the ideas!
  4. THANKS GUYS, I 've been thinking about it some more and I'll probaly leave the hull standard, You're probaly right about making the bottom smaller. If you mess with one bit you have to adjust a hundred other bits. Keith I really like your raised cabin, It looks really good. Whats it like to sail and live in? It seems to have plenty of room. I love the feel and seaworthyness of my Weekender I just wan't to be more comfortable cruising
  5. I am thinking of building a Vacationer this winter, How do owners feel about the amount of headroom? I do want a more livable boat than the weekender. I've spent quite a few nights in my weekender but after a night or two sleeping in theboat my small Stationwagon feels like a motel! I want to put in proper bunks as my boats always seem to get a small amount of water in them. (I keep my Weekender at a dock so its always getting full of rainwater) How do people find the headroom? I'll probaly build the hull height up a bit(say 4 to 6inches) one of 3 ways: 1. Having steeper sides 2. A smaller bottom and keep the flare angle and deck the same. 3. Make the flare the same and the deck larger (this will take me over the 8' limit but as its going to live in the water, it won't matter. i also plan to ad some weight to the keel and have an external pivot centreboard i do like the seaworthyness of the semi-displacement feel my Weekender has. As discussed in the previous topic. What are your thoughts Guys? Whats your opinion Ray?
  6. I've been thinking about the Superskipjack. I think the thing to do would be to offer 2 rigs, for heavy weather cruising the Weekender would be too big. But as a racer, with crew of two it would be a little screamer! Having sailed Wayne's Weekender which is a very lightweight boat with a plywood keel. I've often wondered how a weekender racer would go, particulary in Classic races. Looking forward to the plans! Mike did you ever get round to selling any of the old plans? We'd love to build a mini-indy!
  7. buck

    KEEL

    I'm with Mike on this one, I reduced my Weekender mainsail sail by a foot and a half along the bottom. It made all the diference in the world over 20 knots. In highers winds I just let it flap and use it as asteading sail for the jib. However my keel is cypress and has soaked up a lot of moisture over the years (it lives in the water) so its pretty heavy, which makes it slow in light winds and very steady and smooth in big seas. Basically I think the standard sailplans are way too much to singlehand in over 18knots, at 30knots you are also getting a lot of windage on the boat, I can never tack my boat in over 18. Wayne also has the same problem. But jibing in these conditions is much safer and just as quick. However when I build my Vacationer I will definitely but some ballast on the keel, no a lot and not for stabitly or self-righting ability, but to give the hull a bit displacement which will give make it more seaworthy in a sea and more comfortable too. Of couirse with more corresponding foam bouyancy too - last thing you want if something does happen is the boat sinking on you!
  8. Yeah I suppose you are right, Calling a Weekender one of the safest 16 footers in the world is a strong claim as no doubt theres some very sold 16 foot keelers that could stand a hurricane, however my comparison is with production boats, trailer sailers and other non ballasted boats. Perhaps my claim is worde wrong. Maybe it should be Show me a more seaworthy 16 foot yacht! The Weekender is a very safe boat.
  9. Capsizing any boat can be an alarming experience. However there is a simple way to avoid it: don't do it! I know this sounds stupid, but its basic technique.If you think about it a Weekender is extremely hard to capsize. First never let the boat heel beyond the gunwale, let go or ease the mainsail (in strong winds 20knots plus I have the mainsail flapping like a banshee but the jib taut and full of wind, In these winds the mainsail just becomes a steading sail and the jib drives the boat and not slowly! You'll still be hitting 5 or 6 knots) Secondly I always let the boat round up into the wind in a strong gust. Weekenders have a natural weatherhelm which makes it very safe. Finally when ever jibing (I always jibe in strong winds rather than tack - much easier) grab the boom as it comes over and hold it steady till the boat steadys herself then let it go. I learn't this from a very experienced Catboat sailer who would often hove too stern first holding the boom, if you think about it makes sense even if it feels completely unnatural. it keeps you in control. I have never capsized my Weekender despite sailing in 25knot winds and 5-6' seas. It is an extremely safe boat. As a singlehander I do sail with a shortened main being 183lbs. I have been in a Weekender (Waynes) 3 up with a GPS reading 6.8 knots ( I believe he's seen over 7 knots down wind) Really we have one of the safest 16 footers in the world. Just remember rule number 1: Don't capsize!
  10. Hi Wayne, Can you e-mail me, I'll send you the reply. Buck
  11. Thanks Steven, I'll get on to it, Its winter here so things have been pretty quiet. We still use this forum. www.waynemunro.com/misc/2006_marahau_3min_medium.wmv Buck
  12. Heh Mike, Any chance of an illegal pre-release photo shot slipping out and gracing these pages? Like car magazines do.
  13. I don't know I'll have to measure them, But they're not small, at least 6' I sit on the storage compartment. Its slightly awkward you have to keep your elbows raised to stop hitting the cabin bulkhead sides, but its fine once you get used to it. I 'll get the measuresments for the oarlocks etc. and post them.
  14. Hi Fintan, I don't have too much problem in the cockpit, Tillers are always cumbersome, but any problems are offset by being able to get well forward and still steer (With my crusing top on I was able to sit in the cabin when it rained!) The real problem with it coming through the lazerette was getting enough turn in the rudder, 45 degrees being optimum (beyond that the rudder is braking the boat). Once I got that its fine. All systems have pros and cons, I like the directness of the tiller within the cockpit, If I was doing it again I'd do it the same, but perhaps with a tiller extension. Buck
  15. As you can see on Wayne's video, I have oars on my weekender. I used to have an electric outboard, but I've found the oars easier and more conveinient. The Weekender is somewhat heavy to row (compared to the Amphora.) But it is effective. I was able to row for several miles at a time when the wind dropped at a couple of knots. its an easy solution, you won't win a sculling race and great exercise and easy on the environment. As for the sail, you can see my main is really cut down, We get a lot of 20 knot winds, You can see my weekender (the blue one) bounding along in 2' seas and 15 knots. I found the perfect foil for 20knots and more, to spill wind on the main and let the jib do all the pulling, she simply races along The mainsail half flapping. But the polytarp copes and its good fun. I singlehand nearly all the time and the regular mainsail is really too big. Waynes boat (being lighter and smoother) sails rings around me below 10 knots but when hes reefed in heavy weather the boats are much the same. I always jibe in 15knots plus, its really hard to get about with the windage on the sides. A trick is to grab the boom as it goes over and hold it till you're ready to let it go (when its facing into the wind) We had a great time sailing these excellent wee boats often in 2'-3' seas, they are dry wonderful boats and in competent hands very safe.
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