kydocfrog

For some reason, I started poking around again here and backyard boats tonight after a lengthy absence. Don't know what got me to surfing these boards again. Nice to see familiar names again, and some surprises. Fire Escape sold? Adla apparently rescues Black Falcon? What else...? On this end, remarkable sailing summer this year in Kentucky. Green River lake has been absolutely beautiful. Light of Day, my classic V21 restoration project continues to move along slowly as to final details. As someone just said in a post launching can be a mistake; you start sailing instead of working. Anyway, hi, folks.

I always did like that dragon design you used to have. That would be a sail to see.

Whoo Hoooo! Adla and Morgaine are back! What a great post and a great sail. The Lurking Frog

I am impressed; a great project. Speaking of room and access, one thing I did was seriously modify the cabin roof of my weekender, the now departed Charlie Girl II, with a slot-top arrangement ala Jim Michalak (see duckworksmagazine.com) to give more safety and stabilty when moving forward. I could walk almost to the foot of the mast without having to climb topside. I thought that was a neat safety feature. Might still be some pictures back in the achives. Still lurking. Doc A in Kentucky

Things seem to stay green in Washington. That is one fine looking Weekender. And that particular color scheme is my favorite on a Weekender. DocA in Kentucky.

Looking very good. Very good indeed. Docfrog in Kentucky. Still lurking around.

Agree completely; that's fine looking boat. DocA

This boat gets better looking all the time. I concur that the interior looks superb!

Fantastic. I've been completely fascinated by the Morningstar odyssey. I delighted that it will resume in kinder waters. DocA V21 Light of Day

Hey, Adla. Good to know you are still around. Re. Boat on the rocks. The first time I took my daughter out on Charlie Girl II, which had some serious philosophical issues about turning to port, I managed to put her (the boat) square on the rocks of the little lake we sailed on. Ellen looked at me with a perfectly straight face and said. "This is really complicated, isn't it."

Yup, all kinds of folks hanging around. Hope nobody was hurt in the squall. DocFrog V21 Light of Day

You might want to take a look at some of Jim Michalak's (spelling...?) designs. They are a bit out of the box, often boxy, and go down to some very small sail and motor designs. But they are extremely well thought out by a very competent if somewhat unusual designer. You can find them on Duckworks Magazine in the plans section. www.duckworksmagazine.com. DocFrog V21 Light of Day

Two really neat inflatable PFD's, and all our kids home from various points of the compass. And a great day's sail on Green River Lake with Barnacle Bill in his Vic18 cutter with my younger son. DocFrog V21 Light of Day

And the same to all, a bit late, and a prosperous New Year with fair winds. DavidA V21 Light of Day

What a nice boat. DocA

Man, Georgetown SC is one of the great boat friendly towns left. I hope the show was great, and maybe we'll see some pics? DavidA/KY

That is one amazingly sharp Weekender. The interior and trim are great, and the tiller head proportions are among the best I've seen for the design. But I have question that I know a lot of other people really want to ask but are too embarrassed. Where are you really building that boat? ;D There has to be somewhere, a room, a shed, something, where you are building her -- you know, with tools and sawdust and paint drips -- and then dragging her into that immaculate garage to take the pictures. Fess up! ;D DavidA

What fun!!!

Indeed we did. Keeping the Weekender wasn't really an option, as much fun as I had building her, and refitting Light of Day has certainly had its own challenges. I'm having a lot of fun with woodwork in the interior where there is a bit more room to explore. DocA

That's a really nice looking cockpit, and so it the catboat!

Light of Day, my current restore and refit project, touched water for the first time under her new name Sunday at Kentucky's Green River Lake. She carries a silver Liberty quarter under her mast step to honor her former name, Liberty and ward off ill fortune. By the time everything got straight, the wind had died, so we mainly drifted. But everything eventually fit, nothing fell off, and the water all stayed on the outside. ;D The christening picture clearly shows two old guys pouring wine on a boat. I'm on the left. That's Barnacle Bill on the right. David A in Kentuckyk

So that's how it works!!! What a clear, simple demo. DocA

The Mac history is kind of interesting, and the role the 21 seems to have played in helping to shape the pocket cruiser on a trailer market is one of the things that make it interesting to me as an erstwhile student of industrial design. The further into this boat I get, the more intrigued I am. There is some really solid looking interior glassing and seam work between the hull and the underside of the cabin/sole liner that I really can't figure out how they did unless they had some little bitty contortionists who were immune to toxic fumes. BTW, Charlie -- since you volunteered that you are a mac dealer (which is pretty cool, actually), are spares still available? I guess I could make some new spreaders, but, hey, as long as I'm more into restore and refit instead of build. And would there be any drawings or anything still available from Macgregor regarding stern rail/pulpit for the 21. I've seen a picture of a boat with one, but I can't find it referenced anywhere in the older brochures that I have been able to find. Thanks! DocA.

Hey, Dave. Who knows. My daughter is back in Minnesota; teaching at Macalester. Mike -- good point. You know, the red is really growing on me. DocA

Well...let's see... Charlie Girl II, my weekender, sold early this summer. :-[ She's up in the Cave Run Lake area with a couple of folks out of Morehead University. She was a hoot to build, and I learned a huge amout. Just was not the right boat at the right time -- a bit much to take by myself; a bit too small to take folks with me. But she did sail sweet! I figured I lay off for a while. I bought a little basket case of an aluminum fishing boat for $100 and started putzing around and refitting her as a picnic cruiser. Yup, lay low, take it easy, no big projects; no big deal. When you are in that mood, you should avoid Craigslist... So, here, acquired earlier this summer for a very very low three figures, is my latest; a 1977 Venture 21 that had sat under some pine trees for about seven years or so. A couple of notches bigger, but I can plan on bringing anyone along who I talk into helping me launch! Never thought that I would own a contemporary FG type (much less a red one for crying out loud), but the more I mess around with her, the more impressed I am, and the more I grin. ;D It's not quite like really building a boat, but I certainly am messing about with her and she is eating the hours. I wouldn't really have know what to do to restore a boat if I had not built a boart first. Besides, I kinda missed hanging around this crowd. Soon to be christened as "Light of Day," here she is as found; a bit of interior cleaning rebuild started with a new galley rig; refitted transom with new ladder, light bar and new swing up rudder blade from IDArudder; and a general view as of this afternoon. Still sorting out the rig. Hey...wait...there's no mast tabernacle. What were they thinking...