Craig

Russ,,,,, Plastic? The horror, oh the horror.... She looks nice. Have you sailed her much yet?

Hi Fintan, I too think the cutter rig looks best on the friendships and am in the process of modifying the Saralee. Checking my weekender plans it looks like your stock jib is a 100% er. I am not sure I understand what configuration you want as per the furlers; however, for (I am assuming your boat is a weekender, can

Mike I am really looking forward to seeing you mast redesign. Mine is getting a bit heavy for an old man. I think I told you that I made the staves

A man after my oun heart, house paint! Well done Bob. She is a beauty...

You are so right Ray. what ever don't kill ya...... NO if I could just get out of this office and back to the boat yard!

Thanks for the kind works Mike. Congratulations on your camp find. It sounds like fun. There is a marina about a mile from the house. This year when the boys come home I am going to leave the boat in the water over there. That way there is minimum time spent cleaning and trailering and more time sailing. I will share the design as always. Bob Smalser inspired me to make the sprit extension mostly by hand with old time tools. Well now I have that out of my system... Actually the planes, drawknife, and spokeshave are fun to use and relaxing. It is just that that 100 degree garage takes the edge off the fun. I suspect the way to use the lapper is to set her flying and use the sheets as the downhaul. I am leaning that way on the topsail as well. Hank it to the halyard and use the downhaul for tension. Fine adjustment with the outhaul on the gaff. Whada ya think?

Good show! Keep at it.....

Franks formula works fine. My mast is straight up until the white part. That is a plug that goes into the end and is a 1/2 inch or so smaller in diameter. It fits about 10" into the lower mast and extends up 18" A taper is OK for a top mast or the ends of yards but for a mast as large as these I think I would keep it straight for simplicity. As I recall the scantlings for these masts call for 3/4" or so for a 3 or 3.5" mast. I just bought two clear fir 2x4s and most of them are now on the shop floor after making the topmast. 2x was $1.60 US a foot. 1x which is 3/4" thick was $1.00 US per foot. Use the 1x lumber if you need 3/4" or less stave thickness. It is easier to rip too.

Ray, Barry, Mike, others, Today

Scott, to add to Barry's excellent analysis I will offer one observation. When I built the Saralee I had the brown for the spar paint tinted to the color I wanted. That stuff never completely dried. I sanded down the club for varnish the other day and the bottom layer of brown was still gummy. That paint has been on there 4 years. The problem, according to my local "real" paint store manager is with the tint. It retards the drying severely. Since then I have only used pure colors with the oil based paints and they worked just fine. My paint area is 80-100 degrees and 75-95% humidity in the summer months.

Jake now that you have opened the ballast trump I will give you the benefit of my vast knowledge of sailing a Vac with lead in the forepeak. Ray and I corresponded as you know while we were adding the lead to our craft. I chose lead plate in the forepeak around the mast as opposed to Ray's external bulbs. I was too lazy to redesign my keel box on the trailer and the 4' of difference in lever arm just doesn't matter on a boat this size. As I have posted before the boat handles much better in terms of course keeping ability as the lead keeps the nose down. The pounding is gone and the 10 hp motor and my fat a__ are now in much better trim. I frankly find no downside to the addition. Trailering and speed do not seem to be effected in anyway. However, if some of the folks are really trying to load or unload the boat with the stern 18" out of the water; as some of the photos show, then they will have troubles. Otherwise I recommend the addition. I have somewhere around 280lb in the Saralee I think; however, I find she needs just a bit more weight a little further aft. Let's see if I can come up with that number for you using complicated engineering analysis terms. The poly styrene lined cooler with 5lb of ice weights about 8.5 lb. The ham sandwich and fruit contribute maybe 2 lb to the total. A 12 pack of Bud Lite is 144 oz, and with water at ............... To make a long story even longer here is how you measure the weight of all this. [attachment over 4 years old deleted by admin]

That really looks nice Bob. FLorin the Sunbrella is pricy but worth the money. Actually when new it will not lot water pass but air will flow through the weave. It can be washed mechanically if heavily soiled but must then be retreated for wowoterproofing It lasts for a long time down here wawarrenteedor 5 years or so and usually last for about 10 if not allowed to build up with dirt etc. But still too much to back a door. Reremember f it says marine it equals aviation and means big $$$$$. There are other fabrics that would work fine up there anandre much less expansive. Franks idea to start at Silrite is a good one. Branch out from there.

That motor is older than I am. Interesting mount however. Thanks for the pics.

That was very nice of you Jake. Thanks.

The only epoxy failures I have had is where I slapped it on and left it outside unppainted. The UV got to it finally and it let go. Todays epoxy mixes can withstand most any temperture range within reason and will last forever if the application and the workmanship is proper. For boats, it is all I am going to use from now on. It is wise to use a 200-250 degree mix however to make sure the laminations stays stable in the southern and western reagons where the sun's heat is a factor. Florin, not to worry.

The boards on the Saralee (Vac) are rather plain and are made of 2x lumber. Prior to finishing I held them up to position and marked the fit. A copuple of itterations of careful sander work and they fit flush. I then through bolted them to the hull. Rock solid

This is way too much for me. I am going back to fixing my rotten hatch coverss... Let's see,,, Imperial lead and 3/32 mm I-beams from water should give me the strength I need. That is until the ice melts and the lead falls through the bottom of the boat! What did you fillet the keel with Grammie? Is it a standard Weekender keel or did you beef it up for the SNUPI modification?

Greg why build an instant boat when we can take three years to build one??

It used to be everyone wanted to be an English major. Now you all want to be engineers!! I used one of the wifes old pans and when the handles burned off I went to vice grips. My pours were about 80 lb each; however, I was casting plates for internal ballast not bulbs.

Alex that is life with a wooden boat. I don't even worry about the dents, dings, and gouges anymore. She looked pretty for the launch photos so now is the time to enjoy your labor and not worry about it. Just have fun. I had a friend run my steering over to the locks and then some. He felt real bad about breaking the steering and thought it was a big deal. I rooted around in the spare materials (read junk) sack in the forepeak and came out with a length of parachute shroud line. In ten minutes we were underway and finished the afternoon in grand style. You build em, you can sure fix em! Happy sailing.

I played with this idea again this weekend. I really don't like the crutch assembly I have and wanted something that looked better. By the time I had accounted for the big motor on the back and a planned upgrade for a swim ladder there was no room left for a permanently fixed gallows. Dave is right, there is not much real estate left back there after the hatch cover, motor, and mainsheet tackle are accounted for. I guess I will just be happy with what I have. Or......, Three Horse how is that sawsall job coming along?????

We all go through this stage. When I built the Saralee I made sure that I spent at least 8 hours a week on her when I was home. You have the worst of it done now. Take a little break and then hit it again. Also, I live on a major residential road and the whole town watched me build this thing. No way I could not finish it!

Thanks Barry. Yes Frank it is a nice boat.

http://www.msog.org/models/m23new/Part6_new23.cfm

Florin a 24x48" replacement awning is $168US. You don't want that stuff. Very good boat cover fabric can be had for $10 US and up. Sunbrella is about $17 per yard at 60" wide. The staves could be riveted as opposed to epoxy. 5200 would work better for something that needed to give but stay put. It is forever so be careful what you get it on. Bob search on boat covers or bininis to find the fabric suppliers.