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Barry Pyeatt

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Everything posted by Barry Pyeatt

  1. Yes, it will have a good home and it would be difficult to understand just how fine this particular Weekender is to those that have not sailed on Capt. Jake's extraordinary "Fire Escape" or seen it in person. This is without a doubt the finest of the many that I have seen and sailed on and the craftsmanship and finish work are truly of the highest quality. It handles far better than any of the others that I have had the honor to share with their owners. It is well balanced with little weather helm. It has no handling issues at any point of sail for a boat of this type. The larger cockpit is a blessing for me with my long legs on full day sails and sailing with Capt. Jake has been one of the most enjoyable things I have done in years. It is no wonder that he has won so many awards with it in the shows he has entered. It attracts considerable attention where ever it goes. With a loose footed main designed for this boat and a lapper you couldn't ask for better performance in light to moderately heavy weather. It is solid, easily controlled and has no problem tacking in even the lightest air. I have seen it easily catch upto larger "faster" boats on a broad reach and leave them watching it go by with their mouths just hanging open. He is certainly welcome to come sailing with us and as I get closer to completing my own it will be interesting to see if I can attain the same balance and performance he was able to get. And yes, he will certainly have first right to repurchase if it is going to go on the market. But for now it is going to get some good use this summer on Lake Washington. Its new owner is positively delighted that he would entrust her with the safe keeping of this fine Weekender. Hard to describe how excited she is about acquiring her. Photos will be posted when she gets on the water.
  2. If you have a square mast with radiused edges they do have one drawback with use. Save a few extra beads to replace those that will become broken. When one does, it no longer works well at all. So you would need to split the bead and epoxy it back together again over the wire. Also wrap the nicopress fitting with electrical tape so that it is approx the same diameter as the beads and covered so it won't scratch the mast when it ends up riding up one edge or another. Ideally it would be located where it is tied to the sail and used on a birdsmouth or round mast. but since it is a flat spot in the loop it can get stuck on the radiused edge of the mast while underway and cause problems. So wrapping it makes it less likely to get stuck on the radiused edges and /or end up gouging the mast.
  3. Yes you can use 3/4" thick material. When you run the bolts thru the chainplates, hull side and backing blocks (partners) use fender washers to help spread the forces over a larger area. It will be fine.
  4. https://www.boatdesigns.com/products.asp?dept=529 This is a good way to build your own trailer. Glen-L has had at least hundreds of trailers built from their plans. And they are cost effective.
  5. If you spray the needle frequently with a silicone spray you will not have any problems sewing thru the two-sided carpet tape and the poly tarp material. The site for PolySail kits and instructions in addition to the aforementioned duct tape tests. http://www.polysail.com/ If you are looking for white poly tarps, here is a source I use quite often: http://www.tarps.com/white.htm If you are looking for white duct tape: http://www.identi-tape.com/duct.html The white gaffer's tape will hold up well for a couple seasons. Although it does begin to yellow a little with UV exposure.
  6. I'm rigging and attaching finished wood components. Probably won't see the water until next spring except on the ferry ride to go visit it over the winter.
  7. Welcome to the madness and the potential to become totally hooked on wooden boat building. First thing to get is a good comfortable "moaning" chair. It will be come an absolute necessity for your sanity as you move forward. Re: Thinking out modifications. Something for you to seriously think about. No, it isn't the perfect boat, but then there isn't a perfect boat anywhere for everyone. No, it doesn't perform as well as say the B&B Coresounds or many other designs. But how would you know? Can it be inproved upon? Sure! For some of the "hell bent to modify" novice builders that have no background or experience with sailing, I would suggest this line of thought. (Which could be disagreed upon by a few "more experienced" thinkers, tinkers and would-be experts.) There have been a lot of these boats built, particularly the Weekender. Nearly all by first time boat builders and most of them by novices to sailing. Some were excuse the phrase, "thrown together" as quickly as possible and just painted over the bare wood. They were rigged without paying attention to basics or to even basic materials and fittings. Some worked OK, some didn't, some were total duds and were left to rot under a newly formed hedge of weeds after the first season. Some of those builders were totally dismayed with the effort, some not so much. Some estatic about what a joy this little boat can be to learn to get some basic building and sailing experience. Most of them didn't mess with the basic hull design, because they didn't have a clue of what to do in the first place. Most of this catagory of builders also used the least costly materials they could find and the end product still worked. Most of this group will never build anything else in the way of a boat and found out that sailing wasn't for them or they had problems and no knowledgable person to help them thru building or learning to rig, tune the rigging and to learn basic sailing techniques. At the other extreme is the semi astute builder that at least has had some background with power tools, understands or is willing to learn about appropriate building materials and to ask questions before they have to do it over again. Perhaps they have at least been out on a sailboat in the past or has some on the water experience with powered craft. Know just enough about the basics to understand that the learning curve can be steep and quick or long and drawn out. They openly communicate with others, such as on this forum. They realize that the builders that contribute here come from all over the world, have very diverse geographic areas and conditions to sail in and that wood and other materials are going to be geographic as well. That the "Big Box" stores do not have what you need or really even want. Why? because they cater to the home remodeler and small contractor. Not to those interested in building a boat with quality materials suitable for the project. The vast majority of the boat builders somehow manage over some period of time to get their projects finished and in the water. Most of them are for the most part just as designed but not necessarily finished as designed. They learn very quickly that the Weekender, Vacationer and PC are not only fun, they have some rather interesting characteristics. As designed, they are underpowered, INTENTIONALLY! That also helps to keep the novice reasonably safe on those initial "discovery" outings. They were designed to be built from commonly available materials at a time when Marine plywood was a lot more affordable and you could get good quality plywood and lumber at the local lumber yard at reasonable prices. You could find most of what you needed to finish and rig one of them at any Ace Hardware store or its equivalent. That has changed somewhat and prices have gotten to be a lot higher and some maintain that unless you have name brand gear you can't have a good boat. Believe me that is a total line of _ _ _ _! The Gaff rigged Sloop design keeps the center of effort lower than other rigs and is easily managed for a novice. The clubfooted jib is a joy to help learn by and to enjoy learning to sail. Not a novice concession. It works well. The Weekender is the least solid feeling of the three when you try to move about on the boat. Not much bottom area there nor is there much bulk or weight in this boat. So it is "tender" to a novice. The Vacationer and the PC have broader bottoms and hence are flatter sailing boats. But as designed, you can go sailing in a Weekender if there is barely enough wind to make a match flicker or barely cause little ripples on the surface. Others will be sitting waiting for a stronger breeze to come up. When it gets moderatly heavy wind conditions, learn to reef down the mainsail and you will have all the stability you need to handle the conditions and bring it home without a lot of worries. You can make a very suitable set of sails from white poly tarps and good two sided carpet tape or white duct tape. A Grommet install kit and some hardware store braided rope for lines. Glass it with Vinyester or epoxy resin and 4 oz glass cloth, paint it with a good porch and deck single part poly paint and you are ready to go. Or go for it and finish away to your hearts content. Just don't take too long or it will loose some of the interest in actually enjoying sailing it. Make your modifications cosmetic, and for the most part above the decks without weakening the basic hull or changing how it is built and you will have a good handling boat to learn to sail and have a small family enjoy. After you have a good solid season or more of learning how the boat handles and how to handle the varying conditions, you will, if you find some knowledgable small boat person that is interested, learn how to fine tune the rigging to make it perform better than when you first launched. You will learn what you need to do when things go wrong and what you need to do to keep it safe and sane. You will learn how to handle light air and what to do when it gets really heavy quickly. After this period of the learning curve flattens out a bit, you will find some minor modifications that you can make that will improve the performance and handling dramatically. Things that will allow you to make adjustments while undersail that will improve handling and safety. You will then be able to evaluate what works well for you and what doesn't. The biggest problem with modifying the design when someone else is the "expert" is that you have to live with what they created, if it doesnt' work, how will you evaluate that? And most major modifications have handling issues that go with them. Some positive, some not so, and some are dramatically dangerous. But how will you know how it was supposed to handle if you have never sailed it as it was designed. Most of the long time owners have done small things to refine the rigging, change from wheel to tiller, make small modifications to the rigging that they can evaluate under a lot of varying conditions to see if it is better/safer, or better performing/handling. If not they can easily go back and try something else. Most of their building modifications are with the realization that if they modify the waterline or hull design they are going into the unkown. Despite what some "experts" will say about the shortcomings, the bulk of the owners enjoy their boats, how they handle and the safety of them. The biggest problem I have with "experts" that keep suggesting modifications to the basic design and criticizing the design is that most of them have virtually no basis to go by. Armchair quarterbacks. Most of them have no small boat sailing experience and some have never actually built a sailboat or sailed on a well built Stevenson's boat. But they know everything there is to know about what you should do to change the design before you actually have ever built a boat. Just remember, they are not going to be there to help you, they are not going to pay for it or be there to understand your sailing conditions or how you want to sail with a family or alone and if it doesn't work well for you, what are you going to be able to do about it? So, take all of it with a large dose of "REALITY". This is your project, there are a lot of people that have built them, a few that know how to actually tune a Weekender for optimum performance "as built" and as designed. Save the big modifications for after you have had a chance to learn how much fun these can be as designed and how to best use them under your conditions in your area and with your level of "seamanship" and expectations. Don't be afraid to ask questions, but remember, the opinions come from all over and what is valid in one area may not be practical in another or not at all where you are going to be sailing. Oh, small kid access to the forepeak area on a Weekender, not a good idea! Not that big an area to begin with. And you may find you want to place a battery or two there in cases if you use an electric trolling motor as an aux. Fore deck is also not a good place for small kids, keep them in the cockpit and cabin and teach them to be safe on the boat. Set a good example for them to learn by. Best seat on the boat is the cabin hatchway seat. You could place a small hatch at the front of the cabin top, but for changing how it is built. That would allow the kids to stand up and look out and about. A lot of the strength of the boat is the way it is stressed plywood that takes advantage of the strength of curved shapes joined together. Cut out a lot of that and you loose a lot of the safety and overall strength of the structure. If you want a boat with more room, build a Vacationer. Don't try to lengthen or widen the Weekender. A couple of builders have, they say they are happy with the results but it is hard to not say you are happy with something you build or modify or that it isn't actually an improvement in handling or performance. You will have a lot of fun and there are a lot of people with good experience that are part of this forum. Lots of them will contribute. Not so much on some of the other forum(s). You'll find where you are most comfortable and what is good info and what is not, just remember, It is your project, your budget, your family's safety and no one else is going to be qualified to make the decisions that affect your project as well as you can. Nor should they. Have fun, ask questions and evaluate for yourself.
  8. 3M makes a double faced tape that they use to attach UHMW strips along the keels of glass boats as wear strips. It sticks like nothing I've ever seen before. It is also used to laminate UHMW to other materials where they have heavy outdoor exposure issues and can't thru bolt the pieces. But I don't know how to get it or what it costs.
  9. Unless you are desiring to make yourself some heavy weather sails, this is a bit heavy for tarp material. The standard weight white works out quite well for standard jib, main and even a lapper for a Weekender or Vacationer. Using the Polysail directions, you can whip out a set in a weekend that will last a couple years of heavy use. If you need access to white duct tape that will work well, just ask. http://members.aol.com/polysail/HTML/index.htm The Duckworks grommet kit works well at a reasonable cost. You can spend a little extra time and re-enforce the corners of the sails and they will hold up better for a longer time.
  10. You can get Tyvek in plain white, but there is a distinct disadvantage to using it. It stretches out of shape quite quickly when used as a sail material. As a ground cover or for rain gear it is quite effective.
  11. He made a lot of his earlier sails from white poly tarp. I have a set of them , (main, standard jib and lapper) and they are very nicely made. He was working with dacron in the last couple years along with the poly tarp. Capt. Jake has a dacron set that are really well done. And no, he is no longer in the business although that is an extremely sore subject with quite a few.
  12. This is one article on "How To". This can take you thru the steps to make the wooden part of the block. The sheves can be turned from UHMW Poly stock 3/8" or 1/2" thick. A hole saw can cut the circles, mount them on a 1/4" bolt to use as a shaft and use a drill press for a lathe. A 3/8" curved microplane will cut the groove in the sheeve easily and then drill out the center hole 1/64" oversized to allow the sheeve to spin freely. An article in the Marlinspike Sailer has directions on how to form the grommets and another in the same book has rope stropped blocks in it. http://www.eclectica.ca/boatbuilding/blocks.php
  13. Where are you located? I would look for another source. 3/8" isn't a particularly "Wierd Size". If you go to 1/2" ply you will find that you will have an issue trying to get it to form the cabin top. It is a fairly difficult bend with 3/8" and would be more than a little difficult with 1/2". The deck in 1/2" wouldn't be a problem other than trying to pull it down into the sweeping curve from bow to transom to attach it to the stem, forward bulkhead and main bulkhead where there is very little material to attach it to. The rocker to the bottom is a difficult curve to achieve with 1/2" in the forward sweep for some builders. Getting the bottom attached to the keel will give you an idea of just what you are facing in trying to bend 1/2" ply. By putting in a heavier deck and cabin top you are building in more resistance to these parts taking the "fair" curve that you are looking for and applying more resistance to each joint and attachment point. The stringers are going to need to be able to take the additional stress. The adhesives are going to be under more stress, and you would likely need to use more screws spaced closer together to get things to work. The sweep of the deck from forward bulkhead to the main and to the lazerette will be flatter than designed due to the thickness of the 1/2". This will have a bit of an effect on how your cabin, hull sides and deck sides are shaped. The deck will want to resist bending to a curve to attach it to the stem, bulkeads, and to bend to fit the curve of the lazerette and transom. If you are unable to find 3/8" marine ply locally, you can order it from other sources out of your area. Or, instead of 1/2" ply for the cabin top you could use two layers of 1/4" to laminate together. Much stronger and easier to lay up and work with. The deck "with more muscle" can be formed into the sweeping curve you need fore to aft. But the biggest challenge will be to get the curve from side to side over the lazerette and transom. You may need to beef up the stringers a little on the main bulkhead as well as on the forward bulkhead, lazerette and transom. Here is where quarter sawn stringer stock will benefit a great deal in strength. Especially if you cut and attach them so that the deck fasteners will go thru the grain rather than with it on the stringers. Epoxy would be a better choice than other adhesives as well. There is another factor involved and that has to do with the overall balance of material use vs. application and resulting strength. The structural balance is pretty darned good with the thicknesses recommended. When you go to heavier, (thicker) material, you make that portion much stronger than the rest of the project. You are also making more internal stress within the project. Ideally, if you were to have a major damage issue, the entire boat would come apart more or less equally as designed.
  14. As the most "seasoned" of the group, I'm afraid I am beginning to resemble that remark! The discounts help although some just say that their discount on the combo is it and that is all. Of greater concern is the health care providers don't. Strained some muscles in my back the other day and they just keep on adding to the charges. All muscle related but they want to charge you for X-rays anyway and an occupational therapist visit or twelve. I need a little stronger pain killer and muscle relaxer and some time off my feet. Been there, done that but if I listened to them I'll be in a wheel chair tied to regular visits and surgery to see what is wrong until I exceded my deductable and limits. Sorry, Just my rant for the day. The area we were sailing in is a wonderful place to explore. Lots of wildlife, scenery is spectacular, with Mt. Rainier sticking up as a backdrop. Currents can be a little tricky as we've discovered in the past but that just requires a little planning on heading out and attention to the tide tables. And it is quiet! Wonderfully quiet, until you hear this very deep "Whoommmp!", the sounds of the artillery range at Ft. Lewis. Kind of shakes you thru and thru. But you can hear the kids playing on beaches miles away. Nice day! Great company! Always enjoy being out on the Sound down there.
  15. Any time I can get out on the water with this group would be great with me. Nice day! Joel's "Island Girl" is one nicely put together Weekender that handles as nice as any that I've been on. He got it right! Nothing that only minor tweeking wouldn't fix just to make things easier. His rig is "keep it simple" and it works extremely well. Tacks thru even on light air with the clubfoot and is pretty darned nicely balanced. His Tanbark Sails really set it off nicely too and they are well made, and perfect for the Weekender in this area. In light to moderate air they perform as well as any I've had the opportunity to go on the water with. Exactly what Joel wanted. glad I could get to share it.
  16. OK, here is the problem with his modification. You are only working on whatever slack there is in the system. Since the ends are stationary, the only thing moving is the tiller against a fixed line. You are turning the shaft and applying additional tension to one side or the other. Instead of that. If you attach the turnbuckle to one side of the tiller and have the other end of the steering line attached to the other side of the tiller, you can actually adjust tension in the system and the steering will work smoothly. The system needs to be a closed loop for it to work correctly. But there were a lot of builders that tried to make it work his way. And yes you could steer with it his way, but it was constantly fighting with varying degrees of tension and you couldn't really get a feel for what was going on with the steering. Sorry!
  17. Gadzooks! Not sure that I fit into that catagory entirely. Errr, ah, what was that catagory again? I was a late comer, only been active since about 2000 although I was a lurker prior to that. Lots of water been passed ...............beneath a lot of hulls since then. Good friends made and still my Weekender isn't finished. Hate to say it, but life does have a way of getting in the way of the things we would like to get done vs. the things we need to get done. One thing I do know for certain, couldn't find 4 better suited old farts to get together to go sailing than this group. Yes the camera will come along, better plan on having some good music as well. Just in case we don't have much wind in the AM so we don't have to listen to FM, we can get our groove going with some mellow tunes. Just realized, three of us met when Capt. Jake won the "Best yard art" trophy, or something like that, at the Olympia Wooden Boat Fair with his, at that time, yet to be launched Weekender that didn't even have a name yet. Still sitting on a trailer on the dock by the bay. I'm really looking forward to this coming Thursdays outing.
  18. HURRAH JOEL! [glow=red,2,300][/glow] I don't know how to tell you how tickled both Jody and I are that you are finally sailing with your "Island Girl" . I can tell from the photos that she is happy to be on the water. : I know it has been a long time coming, but good things do happen for those with the patience to follow thru on them. Can't wait to see her in the water and looking forward to getting a chance to go out with you. Certainly looks great from the launch photos.
  19. In following the plans, you would use a single line up and down with a thimble in the middle and a wire clamp below the thimble to hold it securely. This doesn't give you a good straight line but it is secure. Ideally you would use separate stays with separate thimbles for each, but on a boat the size of the Weekender, it isn't absolutely necessary and the size of the holes needed to accomodate them is a consideration. The tension on these stays isn't so great that it is a problem. Capt. Jake does have good tight tension on his but it is applied by a very tight forestay and it took a lot of "tuning" to get it to the performance level he enjoys. Individual tension adjustments on his stays are not easy to make due to the deadeyes that he uses. Typically you would use turnbuckles on each stay to tighten them up after raising the mast. Couple easy twists of each and you are ready to go. The greatest danger of splitting your mast is in the orientation of the grain when you thru bolt things to it. If you are going thru the grain rather than with it you are far less likely to have a split occur under extreme stresses. If you drill the hole oversized, center the bolt with three little strips of wood and then fill the hole with epoxy, you will help to prevent that from occuring. The epoxy is far stronger than the grain of the wood and will help to make that point stronger. It will also prevent moisture from wicking along the threads of the bolt in seasonal temp changes. You can also put a strap around the mast above and below the thru bolts which will help, but it is extra weight aloft that is really not desirable.
  20. Amen, Amen and AMEN! If you wear gloves all the time while sailing, you maybe won't know much of a difference, but otherwise make your mainsheet a nice to the hand braid. Your hands will be forever grateful. Personally, I've been there, even with some of the more expensive poly and I won't go back, yes the difference in how long it lasts is significant as is the difference in how well it works thru the blocks and particularly when it gets wet. Not so bad for crab pots though. :
  21. http://www.messing-about.com/gaffrig/gaffmain.htm#lacingsail
  22. This old thread has a world of information that could apply. It seems to have helped a lot of builders with similar concerns. http://www.messing-about.com/forums/index.php?topic=3594.30 This is the link to the last page of the discussion. You may want to go back and read the entire discussion.
  23. Pepe, There are a few things that you an check as far as helping to determine if there are things with your mast angle that are contributing to "Weather Helm". On the Weekender, the angle from the front surface of the mast box to the bottom of the boat should be 93 degrees. You can take your adjustable angle keeper and set one edge on the front of the mast box and the other edge on the bottom or on the top surface of the plywood brace sitting on top of the bottom to hold the mast box inplace. Tighten it up and then measure the angle with a protractor. If it is more than 93 degrees the mast is leaning too much towards the aft end of the boat. This will contribute a great deal to the feeling of a heavy wheel or tiller. IT will get worse the stronger the wind blows and the more you try to tack into it or go cross wind on a broad reach. To adjust the mast base to the correct angle, you can cut an angled section off of the back side of the bottom of the mast up to the deck line. This wedge's angle should be the amount that you want to correct the angle of the entire mast. For example, if the measurement of the angle is 97 degrees, you would want to cut off a wedge with a 4 degree angle from the back side of the mast base. Then reattach it to the front of the mast base and you in effect have now created a bent mast that will now be at 93 degrees rather than at 97 degrees. This will straighten up the mast, moving the top of the mast forward and this will help to lesssen the pressure on the tiller or steering. One other thing to consider. The Weekender jib is quite small. A larger jib will help to balance out the boat very quickly and effectively. A jib with a foot of about 110" would be called a "Lapper" to many. It will fill an area larger than the fore triangle from the mast to the bowsprit. It will also require that you use seperate jib sheets to work with it. It is most effective in light to moderate wind conditions where it on most Weekenders that I've worked with it will give you a nearly neutral helm to just slightly positive pressure. In heavier wind conditions, you would not want to use it. If you would need to reef down your mainsail because of the heavier wind then you would want to go back to the standrd jib to balance the reefed down mainsail. Under these conditions the boat is quite well balanced with a little positive helm pressure which is good. Release the tiller or helm and the boat will slowly turn into the wind. Keeping the bow down into the water will make a huge difference once the mast, sails are tuned for good performance. You will feel an immediate difference in how it handles and how much pressure is on the helm if you have an adult go forward while underway. The bow drops down into the water and the Weekender will settle down and feel really solid. Tacking is now a lot easier because the forefoot and the hard chines now begin to really work in your favor. When the bow is up, the chines are out of the water and much less effective while trying to tack or reach. Try putting a couple of 50# sandbags in the forepeak when you go out. That 100# forward will make a huge difference in how the Weekender will feel and work. The pressure on the helm is lessened immediately, the mast is now more upright and it is working with better air flow across the jib as well as the main sail. Keep the shroud tension tight enough that when you are tacking, the shroud on the lee side shoud just be tight. The other shroud will be very taut. Tack in the other direction and check them again, they shoud be just the opposite. If they feel much different, then you need to adjust them until they are about the same on each heading. This will help to give you better sail shape too and also lessen the pressure on the helm if all other things are as they should be. Just remember, this is a small boat, weight shifts will as Paul stated create an entirely different feel as you move about the boat or have a passenger move about. Often the best place to have a passenger sit is on the top of the companionway hatch box. This will keep the weight more centrally located fore/aft. That can make enough of a difference to lessen the pressure on the helm as well. Learning how to shape the sails is also a step to adjusting air flow over the sails and increasing efficiency. Little tell tails placed in the correct location on either side of the main and the jib will help to learn how to adjust the tension on the sheets and on the foot of either sail to help air flow. Again this will help to lessen tiller pressure and have a more balanced helm. Changing to a different rudder is something that can change the responsiveness of the helm provided the rest of the rig is more or less trimmed to best performance. If the Weekender is well balanced the stock rudder will perform just fine. One with more of a foil shape, if the correct foil, can help in a tack, but don't expect it to cure the helm pressure. There are too many other things that you need to check first.
  24. Jim, I too would recommend either Black Locust or American Elm. Both have good interlocking grains that prevent splitting and have good rot resisitance in this application. I've used both in similar applications and fabricated several wooden cleats that have held up for many years of pretty intensive use on some much larger boats. I've also used both to make wooden blocks of various configurations. Both are available in smaller pieces from some of the mills that sell on e-bay. I've gotten both of these woods by contacting some of the sellers with mills that have cut to spec for me when they found out what I needed. Pretty inexpensive as well. Those that I've used have been happy to provide what I wanted when they understood what I was looking for. Most of what you will see promoted for sale will be highly figured 3/4" thick boards for specialty wood working use. So contact them and let them know what you want, they will deal with you directly.
  25. What else are you going to belay that line to if it isn't a Kevel? :-X Very nicely executed! Now to get the other side to follow the same course.
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