Steve Day

Mike, Mighty fine work there. I'm anxious to see how it floats. Steve

Hear, Hear! A hearty toast of your favorite grog for Frank and the site! This is a good place to meet a great bunch of folks. People that build their own boats are regarded as a lunatic fringe, but I'd rather be in this lunatic fringe than out there in the "mainstream." Keep up the good work, Frank. (And get that Spindrift built!) Steve

Mike, I absolutely love the deck! Why not have a knockabout, runabout, sailabout boat! The grain matching is quite beautiful. I'm looking forward to hearing about it hitting the water (and seeing some pictures). Steve

Andrew, That's the way it works for me, too. Just can't win. It must be a bit frustrating looking at all of the neat stuff over here in the states on Ebay and not being able to get to it. I was looking for a trailer a while back and couldn't find one within a 1000 miles of my location here in Nebraska. Then, one day I looked and there was one just like I was looking for about 200 miles away! I bought it and brought it home straightaway. What really frustrates me is when you MISS one like that. :x We'd like to come your way, but the Florida Keys, Bahamas and the Caribbean are calling first. Steve

How cool to see Spindrift #448 out on the water. Mine is #447. As far as sail arrangement goes, I have the full sleeved sail with no reef points. If it gets to the point that I need a reef, I go in the big boat. Steve

Mike, Looks great. I will be anxious to see her in person one day. You do really great work. BTW, congratulations on the alternative school project. That is a really great way to get some of those kids some real life experience. Maybe you will cause some of them to take up the vocation/avocation of boatbuilding. Thanks for keeping us up-to-date. Steve

Dingo, As I recall from the maps, your little neck of the woods is really quite large. Are you in the north or the south of the country. I have some mates in the Brisbane area, but the rellies are in Wagga Wagga and Tasmania. Would we even be close to where you are? Mike, We'll look to come over your way one of these days pretty soon. Probably in the fall. More to come, Steve

Congratulations Chaps, You have made my day!!!! Dingo, That was an interesting essay on all of the sheilas around the house. No wonder you are getting plans for the boats. Have you figured out how to lock them out of the shop? Mike, Sorry to hear you haven't had the time to finish the boat. I am really interested in seeing her sail. Now that we are closer to the retirement date and the resultant move to Alabama, we might be able to figure out how we can get up to NC to visit you and Graham on the way to Norfolk to visit inlaws. The next step is to try to figure out how we can visit the "rellies" that live down under. We may have to work a little longer on that one! Cheerio Mates, Steve

congradulations, Mike H., You will find the Spindrift project to be a lot of fun. I built mine over the winter of 2003-2004 and put her in the water for the first time on Memorial Day weekend last year. She is a fine boat and fun to sail. I will be glad to help when I can, but don't get up on this site as frequently as I would like these days. I'm getting very close to retiring and am trying to get a few projects finished at work along with preparing for our move to Alabama. The move date of July 1 is approaching with the speed and force of a runaway freight train right about now. Please feel free to send an e-mail to me if you have questions. Steve

Mike, Nice Work! I gotta ask; Does the cat sail, or is he/she just a shop cat? I suspect the cat is good company when you are contemplating your next move in the shop. When are you going to get the boat wet? I see it is already on a trailer. Steve

Mike, I have been away from the site for a while working up to the move to Alabama and trying to get a few work projects done before retirement. I was reviewing a few old posts and was happy to see the latest on your project. She is looking pretty good! It will really be nice to see her on the water this summer. Thanks for sharing her construction with all of us. Steve

Rob, I, too, think Graham might be the best guy to answer your question. I have a Spindrift 10N that I built last year. I have only sailed, rowed and towed her to date. I expect you might be able to move along smartly with a 4 hp motor, but I don't know about planing with two adults on board. Steve

Brent, Too bad. We would have liked to meet up with you and see your boat. We had planned to be down there at the same time during the week between Palm Sunday and Easter. That would have gotten the full moon and a little longer in the area. That was not to be, since my boat will be on charter that week. We had to opt for the earlier time to accommodate the charter. Maybe we can get together some other time. Steve

Brent, When in March are you planning to be down there? We are going to be in the Point Clear area in Mobile Bay from March 12 thru 15. Maybe we could meet up, if that is the right timing. Steve

Charlie, Nice job on those modifications! Good shots of Laura, too. I bet she just loved being caught like that! We are looking forward to seeing you sometime soon. Gina and I have talked about coming over your way sometime in the fall with Day's Dream. We are not going to be in the Pensacola area until July or so, so probably will miss your trip with the group in the spring. Steve

Craig, That is indeed great news! May her recovery be swift and sure. We are looking forward to being down there in your area this summer and meeting up with you folks. Steve

Glen, I made up a couple of cradles for the boat and set it in the cradles. I used a laser level to square things up as it tensioned the stitches. Sorry, I forgot to mention the laser in my other description. Laser or bubble level makes no difference as long as the boat is square. Once you get her square in the cradles, you're home free on that issue. Steve

Glen, Both Scott and Tom have good advice. Look for uneven stresses that have been imposed on the plywood as you stitched her up. That is most likely where the twist was imposed. I had a little bit of that on mine as I was doing the initial stitching, but was able to work through it carefully as I drew the pieces together and ended up with a straight boat when I was through tensioning the stitches. The big thing to remember is to take your time and get it right before you start to epoxy her together. A little extra time at this stage is VERY well spent. I did end up with a bit of a dish in the bottom just forward of the nesting bulkheads and wish I had taken a little extra time there to get that dish out. It does not seem to affect the performance and you really can't see it unless you are looking for it, but I know it is there. However, it is symmetrical, so it doesn't make the boat want to veer off course. I hope you are having as much fun as I am with the construction. Steve

Konrad, Actually, I sail a B&B Spindrift 10N when I am here in Nebraska. My big boat is a Beneteau 400 (40') that we keep in Point Clear, Alabama. I would really like to meet you and sail together after it warms up a bit. How about we try to get together in the April/May timeframe? Maybe we could beat the Jet Skis to Branched Oak. Steve

Where would we be without Jake's adventures???? And his typing?? Steve

Frank, You and your family are in our prayers, too. You do a wonderful job with the forum and our thanks to you for that. The amazing part about all of these corporate things is that we all survive. I have many friends who were laid off from various companies that thank the company for releasing them so they could go off and do what they want with their lives. That, of course, is some time after the event. Best of luck and our prayers are with you, Steve

Konrad, I thought so. I know Chuck only to wave at him, or say hi in the hall. I used to go to the hospital every day to exercise, but go up the street to another facility now. We have been disappointed in Branched Oak and find too many jet skis and boat wakes there for the Spindrift. We went down to Bluestem to get away from the powerboats the last few times and had a great time. Maybe we can get together when the weather gets a little warmer. I love your tag line!! Steve

Jake, Don't get down just because 2 people rated you (What do they know anyway :wink: ). This can't be a valuable tool until a high percentage of the hits rate the thread. Personally, I don't think we will get there, as most of us visit this site for the entertainment and the good information we can get as we sift through the entertainment. I don't know how many times my wife has wondered why I am laughing at the computer. I wouldn't have it any other way. Steve

Konrad, What Lincoln are you in? The weather you described sounds like what I have been going through the past week or so. Steve

Craig, Charlie and I talked about this event last year, but I couldn't make it because we had just been to the boat on Memorial Day. We were commenting on cruising the same waters, but not getting together. This year, we come a lot closer, but we don't move to Alabama until July. I'm sure we will be getting ready to move and all those good things while you guys are cruising about on the BEER run. Maybe next year. We are moving to the East Shore of Mobile Bay this year, but not soon enough. :x Fair winds..., Steve