Steve Downs

Yes we really enjoyed Bunratty Castle. When we got to Dublin we walked to the Gaiety Theater where I used to play and asked to show my wife the stage. They sent us around back to the stage door and convinced the Stage Manager to take us for a peek. They are doing "Riverdance" for the summer but they raised some props out of the way and opened the curtain for us. It was beautiful, just the way I remembered. They even had the same old pictures on the wall by the Green Room. I could have gone home right then and been happy. We did have a great trip. My wife's favorite place was Edinburgh for some reason. I'll bet it's cold there in the winter. Well, back to work. Good luck on yout boat, I'd love to come back someday and go for a wee sail. Slan.

Hi Fintan, what a pleasure it was to meet you in Killarney. I appreciate you taking to time to drive up all that way from Cork to visit. We had a wonderful time in Ireland and Great Britain and are glad to be back home again. I can't wait to see how your boat is coming along. Looking forward to the launch photos. Take care.

Hi Jan, I'm still around. My boat is coming along but slowly. I'm going to put the sides on this Saturday and maybe get the cabin going. All the pictures are in the camera still. Someday I'll get them scanned and posted. I joined the other board and I'm having a boatshed at my place Saturday so I should have lots of help. I still enjoy lurking over here and keeping up with everyone's progress. Sounds like you are doing well and ready to get it wet before long. Glad your son got home without any visible damage. That has got to be a worry for parents. Good luck to you.

Jan, they're almost free. It doesn't take much material, just scraps. I made my sheaves out of oak, probably should have used the plastic but they were so easy to make. If they don't work out (warping, etc) I can easily knock out the brass pin and replace them easily. I do think I'll take off the bright finish however and soak in boiled linseed oil. We must have salty.

I love my wheel. That's the part that sold me on the Weekender design over 20 years ago. I was looking for a traditional look to build a "pirate ship" and that's the first thing I noticed. It was the first thing I made way back then. I took great pains to make it the way wheels are traditionally made. I turned the spindals on my lathe. They're not perfect but it certainly gives it a hand-made but very tradtional look. I spent some time in New England and studied wheels so I knew what I was doing. The only thing non-traditional about it is the wood, Doug fir, and the use of phillips head brass screws which I will correct later on. I'm too busy building right now to get sidetracked on that problem. I've never sailed with a wheel before, all my sailing experience has been with a tiller but I'm looking forward to the experience. Good luck Adla, I know you'll make the decision that will work best for you.

I named my weekender after a model of a pirate ship I put together as a child. I've always wanted my own pirate ship, something I could actually sail so when I saw the article about the Weekender in Popular Science years ago I could see the potential to make a real traditional looking boat. It's taken a long time to get started but it's underway at last and I'm having a good time with it.

Hey Fintan, good to hear from you again. You trip up (and down) the Shannon sounds great. Still planning on our trip to Great Britain in June but I still don't have any details as to when we'll be in Cork. I'll let you know as soon as I do. Ireland is a great place and I look forward to visiting again if only for a few days. How's your boat coming along? I finally hit the 3-D stage and am working on details right now - building the rudder box, steering gear and finishing the inside etc. Take care man and good luck to you and your lovely wife.

Adla, I'm, jealous. You're going to be tooling around Lake Mead long before I'm ready. I have a very similar experience, I spend most nights going through the construction process in my head and work out all the bugs before hand. Really quite handy.

Good job Dave. That is just beautiful. Well done. But what if it's twins?

Thanks for the tip Adla. Next time I'm in Las Vegas I'll stop by and check it out. No we have nothing here or in St. George or in Mesquite. All we have are stores that have never heard of fiberglass, never stocked it before, but maybe we can get it in next Thursday, sort of places. It's so frustrating trying to find anything that Wal-Mart doesn't sell.

Where do you get your fiberglass supplies? Can you get them in Las Vegas? I'd much rather buy them from a store where I can go in and look at the product than from mail order. By the way, nice work. You are flying.

A keel is nice, but by itself You really don't have much. It's what goes around it that matters, That makes it float and such. I've had an internal battle going For several years about The shape I want the hull to be, It's time top decide my route. Do I make it the way the plans show, And build a plywood box? Or do I build a rounded hull Like I've seen down at the docks? I guess I'll have to follow my heart Though to Mike and Peter it may irk, A rounded hull it has to be, It's time to get to work.

It's been a long time coming, I've put it off too many years, But I went ahead and did it, Despite my questions and my fears. I've done my research thoroughly, Pooled ideas from all the best, Thanks to all on the Forum, Now to put it to the test. The wood was sure expensive, But it's a commitment I have made, I've wanted one of these for years. Not getting any younger I'm afraid. Through the cutting, gluing and clamping, It's excitement that I feel, Have to admit, it has been worth it, I'm the owner of a keel.

I built one of Gil Gilpatricks canoes and it was pretty easy. Look his site up. He has quite a nice variety (8) in his book.

Hi Adla, or should I say neighbor? I'm here in Southern Utah only a couple of hours away. I've got my keel ready to assemble but my problem is finding the time to get it done. Maybe this Saturday. It seems like it's taking forever. Oh well, it's the building process I enjoy most anyway. Good luck with your construction. :wink:

I don't envy you Mike, I've had my knee replacement for 10 years now and the doctor told me at the time that it may only last 15 years. We'll see. So far so good. :?

Great idea Barry. I have something similar I made for my drill press but it doesn't have the pin holes. That would help a lot. Thanx.

Wow Barry, thanks for the lesson. It's nice to have a real craftsman on board. Thanks for sharing.

Our day was pretty well spent waiting for 1:00 p.m. I had promised to entertain at a neighbors house for her Dad's 87th birthday. I spent the morning making a new cover for my 1/2 scale chuckwagon and my wife did what she does best - napping. I don't see how anyone can sleep so long. I did a 45 minute program for the birthday boy singing and playing all his favorite cowboy songs. It was fun. Afterward we went to St. George and did some shopping and had dinner. I bought some material to make a strongback for the boat and we got home late. I guess we'll have our grandson over Friday night and we can get started early Saturday putting the keel together and working on the strongback. Life goes on and I want to be there.

Hi Jan, I plan on making my own. Ace Hardware has a whole rack of steel in small amounts. I built a half size chuckwagon recently and I made all the hardware with nothing more than a drill, vise, file and a small soldering torch with mepp gas in it. Just a thought.

Hey Jan, you're back. Haven't heard from you in awhile. Glad you're so far along. I've been finishing the inside of my new workshop so I haven't worked on the boat for quite awhile. I have been thinking about it though. In fact I've been thinking of going back to my original idea of making a rounded hull with cedar strips and adding the centerboard like the original only weighted on the end so that it drops down automatically in the water and folds up when it is beached. I wouldn't have the rope coming up through the hull like the original plan showed. I know it is a big departure from the plans but I feel confident I could make it work. Anyway, I'm going to start moving into the shop tonight and get things set up so I can continue on the boat. Congratulations to you and all your hard work. Good luck in your turning project.

Cool, that's one of the things I miss about living back east, all the harbor activity. Gotta love those tall ships.

I've had a table saw since I was 18. I've been through several and I tend to push them to the limit and maybe a little beyond. I can't imagine a workshop without one. I've had a DeWalt 10" contractors saw for a year now and I just love it. It has that rack and pinion fence which is absolutely great. That has been the problem with every other saw I've had over the years - the danged fence. They have come a long way in technology.

I was walking around a fabric store last weekend with my wife and I found some material called 100% polyester outdoor canvas. It came in many colors and brilliant white as well as a nice off white which I rather liked. I was just wondering if it would make a proper sail or if it might be too heavy. It looked like it wouldn't bag out; pretty sturdy. Has anyone considered using this stuff? :?

But... but.... I thought Gadhafi gave up his WMD's because of long and intense pressure from the UN. That what Howard Dean says at least. How can this be that Sadam's capture had anything to do with it????? :wink: