Gaylen Beardsley

A new company was formed by the kids of the Amway founders. This new business is totally internet based and is called QUIXTAR. I looked into this and it is a pretty good deal, however, not any more for me than AMWAY was. Blessings,

Here is a note for you Pacific Northwest boaters. I know that there is a yacht club associated with the Stevenson Projects, or affiliated or whatever, but for the Pacific Northwest group, the South Sound Elks Yacht Club is activly recruiting at this time. It is a small but growing club with recipricol mooring agreements and all the good stuff that goes with a membership like this. Not sure if this type of posting is permitted, but just wanted to mention it here in case anyone is interested. If you are interested, you can send me a personal email for more details. If this is the wrong type of post here, then let me know so I don't boo boo again. Blessings,

Well. I did find a good deal. Rowdie is a 25 footer, fully equipped and ready to roll and my total cost was $3,000. She does need a paint job sometime in the future, but aside from some cosmetic things I want to do, she is ready to go, and we have already proven that. Now seems to be the time for buying a boat. I think that after the season change that causes some severe weather, winter sailing is great. There are good winds and not all the days in Washington are rainy. Heck, I anticipate there will be days when we will just go sit on the boat and read a book. If you knew what my life was like, you would understand that comment. I will post some pictures as I do a little revamping. See ya,

Hi Everybody, This morning I had breakfast with Neil Gulino and his daughter from Maple Valley, Washington. Neil walked out of the restaurant with his new set of plans to the weekender. We had a great visit and promises to send pictures as he builds his boat. As for Rowdie, we sailed her over from Lake Union last Saturday, and she is now moored on Bainbridge Island in Eagle Harbor. She becomes officially ours on Monday morning after some paperwork. As you can see, I am still snooping around here and may try to interject some plastic boat conversation once in a while. Again, thanks to everyone who was kind enought to tollerate this landlubber trying to get his sea legs. Blessings to all,

Thanks Mike. I am not in a hurry, and I am trying to get some local interest, so who knows.

Honey and I have realized that the Weekender is too small for our needs. So my weekender plans are for sale at a reduced price. The video has been watched once. The plans are clean. I am asking $70 plus shipping You can email me on this forum or a public post. Thanks,

Ya, you are right. I will post there.

Hi Guys, Since the Honey and I have come to the same conclusion that the weekender is too smal for us, guess what. I ahve a set of unused weekender plans for sale. I would like to get my money out of them, but you know that I will have to sell them at a discount in order to move them. What is a good price for this item. video watched once, plans in new shape :?

Want to clarify that the pic I showed you guys is a snap of Rowdie's twin. It was a better representation of the boat than any of the pics I have. Here are a couple of Rowdie herself. [attachment over 4 years old deleted by admin]

Whew, thanks guys Thought I was in big trouble. I appreceiated this board because of the attitude I detected, and you did it again. I will stick around. You all know a lot, and a wise man gain from just listening. I'll be in the background listening. (I try to be wise). Will try and post a picture or two once in a while. Puget Sound is a great place to sail. Thanks again,

I am almost afraid to post this bit of news, but feel I owe it to you as my friends. After visiting Eden Saw, my Honey and I had lunch. At the table she reminded me of the time constraints I had on me for the next couple of years. After reminding me of the obligations I had comitted to, she suggested we buy a completed work and sail for now while we decide just how big a boat I might build in the future. After all is said and done, we have purchased a 25 foot American fully outfitted for live aboard. I feel really good about the decision, but kinda like I have let you guys down. Will continue to look in and learn while the time passes. I hope that is ok. Here is a picture of her. Her name is Rowdie. Thanks again for all your knowledge and help. [attachment over 4 years old deleted by admin]

I was just up in Port Townsend and talked to Lou at Eden Saw. Their prices are as you said, pretty good. they have some good alternatives for the keel, and many types of hardwood for finishing as well. Their price on white oak was major good, but they do not have extra long pieces of that. It would be worth it for you to go up and take a look at all they have. Lou is familiar with the boat now, and has an idea of what we need. They even have the marine plywood Okume in 5'x10' sizes in case you want to avoid patching the bottom. Of course one panel is $120 a sheet. It was a very enlightening experience. Be sure you look at the purple heartwood for the keel.By the way, is there any reason the keel should be restricted to 3x 3/4 width boards. Once they plane the boards, they could be thicker, like 7/8. Is thicker ok?

I want to venture a comment here as I am wanting to test my learning. It seems to me that using clamps is good as long as there is enough Epoxy left between the boards to form a good bond. As far as keeping thins straight, setting the whole thing on edge (supported) on saw horses should allow you to let the clamps stay (if they are really needed after the screws are put in). I do not think you will have trouble with the boards mis-shaping if they are on edge as that is their strong position. Now I am waiting for other posts to verify

Just another thought...It was mentioned on here before that if the dead space is airtight (water tight) there is no need to fill the space with any kind of material. An internal pontoon is simply a water tight box, so I am assuming that if I made the seat backs and box under the seats water tight, I would have my floatation devices in place. AM I CORRECT? :?:

Barry, Thanks for clearing up the buoyancy concept for me. I was wondering why there would be a difference in the location inside the boat. I have put some thought into this for the last few weeks, and even though I am going to have open seats, there is still a need for there to be a seat back or something to lean against. My butt, at least, will not slip back under the deck of the boat, so I will not be losing any seating space if I run the set back from the deck down to the floor or some kind of variation thereof. I doubt that my feet will go under the seat across from me clear to the other side of the boat, so a back chamber down to the floor or another one separate from the back rest on the floor would not restrict useable foot room. The only thing that would be affected in my perspective would be the width of the seats, and the width of the floor slats. This is all IMHO, but like I have said in previous posts, I like to get a visual of the finished product in my mind before I start, so I am working on cockpit area in my mind. fortunately, it is a separate project from the rest of the boat, and doesn't have to be approached until the time is right. Most of my sailing will be in Puget Sound, so where the wind can be gusty, so I am considering floatation chambers in other places in the boat as well, but will have to wait until the building begins before I consider this further. However foam panels covered with plywood on the boat sides inside the cabin have been something I have considered. I am still trying to get the keel put together, so this is all projection in my head. 8)

OK, I guess I need to stop being so lazy and get with the program. I just went to the Raka web page and looked at all the information they have. That page has a good instructional area telling all about Epoxy, and how it is used, mixed and all the good stuff. I have tried to use the search feature of this forum, but with a one or two word search, there is so much to sift through just to get to the thread that tells one what they want to know. I do know that all of these subjects have been covered before and I feel very selfconcious asking the questions all over again. I can see that as one begins a boat, they become like a kid with a new toy, and have lots of questions. I also see that you experienced guys have the patience of Job when it comes to handling us "kids" Thank you :!: I do shudder at the cost of Epoxy Resin, but I can see where it is much the best way to go for the keel. Weldwood I think will work for the rest of the boat, but I do think I will coat the boat with liquid resin to waterproof as per the recommendation of Raxa. Thanks guys... Tomorrow the "Honey" set aside all the "do's" so we can go get the wood we need for the first step of construction, and thinks the trip to get the wood will be a fun outing. She is leaving for a couple of weeks, and we may even be 3D by the time she gets home. "As the Glue Thickens" Another book title :?:

Is the Epoxy glue different from the stuff I will be using when I put on the glass? If so, how much will I need of the glue just to do the Keel? When I glass the bottom how much will that take. I am not sure I found a thread on this subject, however I am sure it is out there. :!:

Well that settles that, I'm going to rubberband the pieces together. I made a model airplane out of ballism that way once and it flew nicely I'll put a screw in the nose so that it will glide in the wind... :wink: Think I will Epoxy the Keel. I will "slather" the sides with epoxy and make sure I don't screw them too tight. If I use Epoxy, then I am assuming I will not have to use C clamps. The important thing for me is that I am going to make sure I have good stright boards before I leave the Eden Saw. Most likely, less than a week will go by from the time I bring the lumber home to the time I am gluing up the pieces. "Stainless screws and Epoxy" Sounds like another good book title. OK, now tell me where I can get a can of Epoxy without having to wait for winter for it to come in the mail. Gather it all together, cut it out, glue it up, photo it and present it to the jury. That's what I am ready to do. Does Home Depot carry the stuff? Lumbermans? Or is there no other way to get it but mail order...? :? Thanks for your help. I enjoy the details, as it gives good direction, and the over simplification was a joy to read.

So, What you are saying is that with the weldwood glue, you cannot squeez the boards too close together, while when using epoxy, you need to have a layer of the epoxy between the boards. Right? :?: So if one wants to make sure boards are together (keel or otherwise) one may use "C" clamps to bring everything together prior to screwing when using Weldwood...

Some of this is pretty confusing... Epoxy has good filling qualities, but you can't squeeze too tight. Weldwood can be squeezed tight but doesn't have the filling qualities? Which grips the best? :cry: Got to use fiberglass, but epoxy can be somewhat of a hazard to use. Epoxy is hard to sand and is hard on the lungs.... I am really looking for a consensus in these areas. The area concerning types of screws is confusing as well. I think GOLD is the best but a little spendy and could be too soft :wink: Also, it there a type of saw blade that will work better for this hard wood? Would buying two cheap saw blades then throwing them away before I start the bottom and deck be a good thing to do? I plan to use Maranti (sp) for the bottom and sides and Okumi (sp) for the deck and cabin. See anything wrong with this combo? One last question before I buy the wood this weekend... would the plain sawed Southern Yellow Pine work for stringers? Or should these also be CVG stock? Eden Saw said that I would not have problem because of the narrow widths and many screws and glue. Saturday is going to be a big day..

Well, if it is warped or cupped, it will stay in the rack. Eden Saw does their own stuff, so I can get it cut to my specks, and it will be stright before I buy it. That's not a lot of screws, so not a problem. Will most likely paint the keel, and do the mahogany on topside in brite. How much bigger of a hole do I need to use. If the screws are #8 then...the hole should be..?

Actually, I was going to use the mahogany to make the seat slats themselves. I am not sure how I am going to do the seat backs yet. Most likely something attached to the deck top to lean against. Did we ever come to a solution about screwing the keel? Since I am going to use the HARD wood purple heartwood, I would like to know just how many screws it might take to do the job. The video uses nails. We kinda talked about nails not doing the job. How many screws will do the job? Spaced how far apart, and how many rows, etc, etc. I am assuming that nails will not work well in the purple wood. :wink:

Man, am I relieved You see, I don't want to get on here and just raise hell all the time with a lot of stupid questions. Thanks a lot for your patience. The mahogany and the purple heartwood are the same price. The difference is that the mahogany is rough cut and would need planing on several different aspects before I could glue. The Purple Heartwood is all at the right sizes and lengths already, and I think that changing a saw blade and making bigger holes beats all the planing and gluing involved with mahogany. However, the information I have gleaned here is priceless, and I can use it in all the other aspects of the boat. The mahogany will most definately wind up topside in bright. Since I am going with the slatted seats and open seat bottoms, do you think the purple heartwood would make strong seat slats? Would the mahogany hold up to the weight as well? 1x4x5' would be how I would cut the seat lumber down. Well, you have seen the diagrams and pictures so that is what I am doing. The reason I am doing so much now, is that I need to have the picture in my head when I start. That is how I work. I have to visulize the product when finished, then work toward that. It helps me figure out the problems while getting there. Well, thanks again. Ordering the Weldwood plastic resin glue this week as well. Wood on Saturday. Dust next week

Here is another idea. Eden Saw in Port Townsend said their local boat builders use a lumber calle purple heart. Adam said it is very hard, holds fasteners like no other wood, and practically will not rot. He knows about the weekender, and said he would go with that over fir because of the qualities of the wood. Stringers would need to be out of fir or southern pine because they bend easier. Just throwing out ideas. By the way, the Purple Heart lumber can be had at all of the lengths and widths we need, and is $3.54 a ft.

Barry, I guess I did not understand. If I use a more bendable wood for the stringers, would the laminated mahogany concept work for the stright keel? The mahogany is heavier, and I would not mind covering it up with paint. Because there are three layers, I can flip the inside one and the seams would not be together. What you think? at the current prices, money is a problem. There is nothing that fits in to the 1 or 2 dollar flex. I am considering the plywood keel avenue.