Dave R1

Thanks. August 23rd is the projected date. I hope it will be done.

Hey Mike, why didn't I think of that?

Soft eyes on shrouds. Stacked over mast in the following order: jib halyard block, forestay, forward port side, forward stbd side, aft port side. Our 85 lb Newfie/border collie cross managed to crawl into the forepeak from the cabin through one of the holes in the bulkhead. Starboard side. Throat halyard cleated on cabin roof. Port side. Peak halyard nearest hatch. Topping lift cleats into the other one. Floorboards after the second coat of varnish. First mate hard at work.

Congratulations Konrad. Now you be careful with that crotch rocket and the 50HP OSS.

Thanks for the suggestion guys. I guess I need to drill a few more holes in the boat. Nelson, I would like to add a roller furler and might do so next year. The goal of an August 23rd launch is looming over my head and I have plenty to do without adding that. Here's a shot of the boat from yesterday. All rigged with that inexpensive braided stuff from Menard's so we could measure to buy the right stuff. I couldn't resist putting up the jib, though I think it is riding a bit higher than it should. I would have put the main up as well but it was windy enough I was afraid the boat would either tip over or sail off down the street. With casters on all four corners, I imagine the leeway would be atrocious.

I was working on the rigging yesterday and came up with a question. The plans show the halyards belayed on cleats at the base of the mast. I have run the peak and throat halyards back to the cockpit on the cabin roof but I'm not certain whether I should bother bringing the jib halyard aft as well. Any opinions?

They should indeed be installed to face the same way. Frequently one of the pintles has a longer pin than the other and should be installed on top. This makes installing the rudder easier as you can concentrate on getting that top pin in it's gudgeon and then work on the bottom one.

There aren't too many other things like that. One that I can think of has to do with the mast box and the forward bulkhead. The angle shown in the plans is measured between the bottom of the boat and the front of the mast box, however the angle of the mast box is set by the angle of the bulkhead. Before you install that bulkhead, cut a scrap of plywood to the total front-to-back dimension of the mast box. If you make it in the form of a T, it can be clamped to the bulkhead while tou are installing it. You can then use a bevel guage between the bottom and front edge of your "jig" to adjust the angle. By the way, I redrew the Station 13 area with dimensions placed to hopefully clarify things a bit more.

This is copied shamelessly from Terry Crisp's MSN site called Sandbars and Driftwood. I hope No one minds but it does explain the problem. Station 13 There is a common error made when lofting the hull bottom at station 13. The plans are not in error, however it is easy to misread exactly where the 2-1/4" is to be measured. The first photo from the plans shows a line between the arrows where the 2-1/4" is shown. To loft this station correctly you measure 2-1/4" from station 13 toward station 14. You make a mark there and set a nail. This is the rear of the hull bottom. Then measure 1-1/4" towards the BOW and draw the 16-5/8" station line. Set nails at those outboard points and draw the curve for the transom. In the next photo I have removed the line that seems to cause this error. Most builders associate that middle station line as the place to set the 2-1/4" mark, but the arrows indicate otherwise. Notice the change: When lofted and cut out correctly the hull bottom will measure 155-3/4". We arrive at this with this math. 13 station lines = 156". Add 2-1/4" for the transom curve as shown above. This gives us 158-1/4" You cut 2 1/2" off the bow as shown in the plans so you end up at 155 3/4". I hope this helps someone with this tricky part of the plans

Fintan, it sounds like you had a great time. It's always good to see another homebuilt boat to give you the push to get your own done (or togive you the push to tell your bride you'll be finishing it ) By the way, I gather from your post that Barcelona has moved to the western hemisphere. Is that amazing or what? Don't you think that sort of thing would at least rate a small spot in the newspaper?

Phil, as to turning the hinge around, I thought of that but the hinge won't go much more than 90

It was designed and built when the plan was to simply cut the round mast at the hinge point. I needed some sort of hinge and didn't think the gate hinges would work well on the round mast. Besides, I'm not thrilled with with the gate hinge on the front as it tends to catch mast hoops or lacing for the mainsail. The original plan didn't include the gate hinge at all. I was going to have the lower pin for the mast set in short slots in the straps so that once the upper pin was removed the mast could be lifted about 1/2" and folded back, pivoting on the lower pin. By putting the lower pin in a short slot, I could avoid having to bevel the edge of the mast thereby having two large mating surfaces when the mast is up. Now, I still get the large mating surfaces and I don't have to lift the mast to fold it down. I decided to go ahead and use the thing even after switching to a 4x4 for the stub mast. It should be reasonably smooth when completed so hopefully I won't have to fight the hoops or lacing up the mast when raising the main. I imagine this year the main will get laced on. Over the winter I'll probably make hoops. Like I said once before, This thing is probablt a belt and suspenders sort of thing but I like the idea that it is probably strong enough to support the sail even if all the shrouds and forestay parted.

Thanks Florin. The steel bands stick up above the stub all the time. I suppose I could remove a pair of bolts and fold it down as well. We'll have to see about that.

This is a picture of my tabernacle arrangement. Sorry it's not better. The strap up the side of the mast has a mate on the starboard side and they are joined by a 3-1/2" wide band that goes around the front of the mast. The straps are attached to the stub mast with carriage bolts threaded into coupler nuts embedded in the stub. The carriage bolts aren't totally seated in the picture but will be once final assembly is started. The carriage bolts reduce the possibility for mast hoop hang ups. Currently there is just a bolt shoved through the mast to hold it up. I'm planning to use carriage bolts there as well. With a provision for four bolts in the mast, I figure there is quadruple redundancy.

Bob, thanks for the compliments. I was actually planning to put a cross member under the center of the hatch to stiffen the plywood but found the hatch is plenty stiff with out. My forehatch is also made of 3/8 lauan ply and should be stiff enough to stand on as well. I haven't tried it yet because the boat sits far enough forard on the dolly that I'm worried it will pitch me off over the bow if I try. By the way, On the forehatch I decided to forego any sort of handle to avoid possible hang ups for the lines. The latch is one of those magnetic child-proof cabinet latches so there isn't any visible lock and no place for water to get through when closed. Barry, where were you when I was designing my hatch arrangement? Keep up the good work. I really appreciate your drawings.

Robert, I agree with you about the handrails. I doubt my Weekender will even get the rails since I'll have two halyards on the roof on each side of the hatch. My hatch slides on rails that are like upside down Ls with a narrow strip screwed to the top of the vertical portion of the slide. The hatch is flat-topped because I wanted to be able to stand on it if need be. It also provides a slight bit more head room in the cabin. There are pictures here: http://groups.msn.com/WeekenderBoatbuilding/daverichardsweekender.msnw The sides of the hatch are actually two pieces of 3/4" mahogany with a groove plowed in the outer piece for the slide rail to fit. I saw an interesting hatch arrangement on another Weekender in which some sort of rollers were used. The aft end of the hatch lifted up to clear the companionway doors. It was quite nice and looks pretty weather resistant. Maybe Chris Pesklo lurks here and would chime in on it.

I think it went pretty smooth, too. It sure looks that way anyhow. Good job, Frank.

Florin, in case you haven't worked out your mast hinge situation yet, I thought I'd share what I have worked out. Maybe it will help. I'm using an old hollow wooden mast that my inlaws gave me but I'm using a 4x4 for the stub mast. As it happens, the mast is slightly larger in diameter than the 3-1/2" side of the 4x4 so I planed flats on the mast on all four sides. I cut a plug to fit up into the mast and it runs up a good 15". I'm using a gate hinge as in the plans on the aft side of the mast. Rather than a hinge on the front I have a couple of 3/16" stainless straps going up the sides sort of like Frank has. At the top of the straps there is a 3" wide band connecting them and forming half a cylinder. This is situated so that when the mast is hinged up, it cannot fall forward. I expect that is a belt and suspenders sort of thing but I doubt it will fail. It might be able to support the mast and sail if the forestay parts since there will also be two pins through the mast. My plan for pinning the mast in the upright position is a little slower than the one in the plans. It calls for a four button-head machine screws threaded into couplers epoxied into the mast--two on each side. I might find this overkill and switch to just one bolt on each side but we'll see. I'll try to get some pictures this evening and get them posted.

I expect it was also designed that way to allow access to the steering assembly turning blocks. If you do the lazarette as shown in the plans, it would be a long stretch from the hatch below the wheel up to the corners. Imagine an All-Star wrestler installing a stereo in an MG Midget. Of course if you put deck hatches in for access then you might as well go ahead and close it up.

Tim, I copied this drawing from Frank's detail pages and I believe it comes from The Gaff Rig by John Leather. The bridle holds the block that is attached to the gaff. The bridle consistis of a line with eyes spliced in the ends. It is slipped over the gaff and typically (or traditionally) held in place with thumb cleats on the sail-side of the gaff. Does that help? The bridle helps to spread out the load on the gaff. The eyes should be served or leathered to increase the diameter of the line as it passes round the gaff so that it doesn't try to saw through the gaff. Actually on these boats, that isn't likely to be an issue unless your gaff is made of some very soft wood. By the way, it would lead to less clutter aloft if you substitute a double block on the mast for the two shown in the drawing. Also, since I'm being long-winded, on large craft there might be two bridles each with a block and there might even be a double block on the bridle with a triple as a mate on the mast for the peak halyard.

I recall reading about a fellow who was towing a line while singlehanding. He decided to give it a try a jumped overboard while sailing at a pretty good clip. If I remember, the first couple of times he tried it, he did just fine but eventually he got tired enough that he had no strength left to pull himself to the boat. Since he had locked his helm, all he could do was hang on until the boat grounded somewhere. I like your ladder, Mike. How did you attach it to the deck? Can it be deployed on either side of the boat? If you have a man overboard situation with someone still in control, being able to deploy it on either side could be handy when (if? :wink: ) you circle back to get them.

Stuart, thank you. Now, I think my car is going to get wet! JTam, you're right about the helm issues and I am concerned about it. The sails are from Paul and as far as I know, made to the plans. They've been in storage since about the time I went 3D. JTam, are you planning to make it to the picnic on August 23rd?

Thank you, Barry. That's a great help.

Barry, Thanks. I know about the angle down there. I did check it once a long time back. Can't remember what it was. Capt Jake, you are reassuring. Thanks.

Thanks Commodore, I suppose I can try it like it is and make some adjustments. I'll have to figure out wedging the mast so it is adjustable.