merrimange

Sorry for the delay out of town. No delam at all. I simply got beam to the wind when a microburst hit and scared me to death, flipped over and I then righted the boat. Took on a good deal of water. 2 hours later, I drilled a plug as I didn't have one in the transom. Been garage kept, just need a heavy keel boat. Old saying is so true, rain before wind, better go in, ( Not to mention the 12 year olds in sunfish who caused me to go in irons).

Buying a Catalina, loved my weekender. Sails etc. included. yellow and white, not bad at all, but no perfect woodbuilder boat. No leaks to speak of. Sail away condition. Only real need is plugs, which the holes I created after it rained on me heavily. Been generally garage kept. Sailed it say 15 times. Needs some subtle to gee whiz projects to make ideal, but truly not bad. Make offer. Live in Franklin, TN. I have a reasonably good converted bass boat trailer worth say $500. I'd be glad to send pics, but probably only makes sense for folks in the area.

how about a unprecedented messing-about .com gathering we plan whereby we put say 50 guys at it at one time and build something along these lines. Kind of a take on the build a home in 48 hours concept. I know I know, the curing takes time, the paint has to dry, etc. - but work with me, okay.

my weekender, but thinking about the next project. I had the patience made the lists, but hated it and wanted to get done more quickly and efficienty - thus the hull/mold concept. It is amazing how "bored" you feel after building that thing. I like being bored for now though.

Me trying to make a buck at boatbuilding ranks up there with getting paid to play golf and drink beer in probability. Nice dream though. Can you buy just hulls anywhere?

Thanks for the feedback. I was between honey dos and trying to think outside the wooden box so to speak. No real end goal in mind just curious.

By sacrilege, I meant there are some great boat builders on this website who build beautiful wooden boats, grand piano types. Since I launched my boat, I can now consider myself at another level, but still humble in my new found abilities and wouldn't want to offend some of the fine folks who helped me out through difficult times by speaking of an "easy way out". I guess you'd say I like to take shortcuts and lack patience. Maybe a function of my age (mid 30s). But, I did survive the first go round. I now am in complete love of sailing but it is enhanced by having built a boat to sail in. The weekender is a perfect little boat to sail. If only it could be built faster and easier ( though some say it is easy ) - all relative to the experience level I presume. Thus, my question of a mold. The thought being once the hull is complete, it is somewhat downhill and not to mention it takes all of those restless apprehensions of leaks, airbubbles, etc. out of the equations (for the most part). In looking back, it seems like no big deal, but the first steps as I recall were quite difficult. Thanks and I appreciate more feedback on this topic.

This may be sacrilege on this site though not intended to be, but i was curious on the possibility and difficulty of creating a fiberglass hull for the weekender. I built mine by the book, but knowing what I know now I wonder if it could have been done differently, say through female molds etc. There seems to be so many composite materials available to make it strong, smoother, and perhaps more cost effective - though I am completely blind on that statement. Thanks.

http://weather.gov/forecasts/graphical/sectors/centmissvly.php#tabs I saw this link recommended in the recent "Sailing" magazine. You can change your region. Seems like a good site. Curious if anyone found a better site for weather, windspeed predictions. I don't live on the coast so this appears to be all that's available for me.

Man - this forum keeps getting better and better. I really appreciate the experience out there. I think I was doing most things wrong, so good stuff for me to dwell on. It seems like most of the best methods for light winds aren't intuitive or logical. I am going to do a little research before I post any dumb questions about the "best" design for a topping lift. I've sailed enough to know that taking the sails up and down is quite painful, so it can help there also.

Ray - thanks a bunch for your feedback. Couple of clarifications for light winds: 1. I lace the foot of my main to the boom - you mean loosen the clue / outhaul right or is that comparable? 2. seating arrangement - by leeward rail, you mean rail farthest from the wind - reverse of what you typically or naturally do in higher winds? I hear you on the beverage - I enjoyed it, but I don't have an outboard yet and was accustomed to moving at least some in a keel boat. So, when I went nowhere, It was troubling to me. THANKS!

I've sailed probaby 6 or 7 times now in Sol Rayo. 5 or 6 times have been great as I watch the weather and wind speed extremely close. I have never had a problem sailing her. She tacks fine, and I normally sit on the windward side of the boat (I think I read that here or in the plans). I normally go when winds are at least 8 mph - have been pretty good at timing. However, last night was the first time I had two people in extremely light winds. I weigh 170 and my wife is 125. So, we are no Krispy Kremers. The forecast said 9 to 10 knots (WRONG by far). Note I've sailed w/ 2 people but had 8 to 10 mph winds before. That's when I noticed the lateral "drift" or leeway (I think that is the right term ) where the boat wouldn't sail at all near the wind ( again - almost no wind, maybe 1 to 2 mph at best). Generally only went where the wind pushed. But - you still should sail some though right? At least I have in other boats - I realize what a boat without a Keel now feels like in light winds. My questions relates to LIGHT WINDS: 1) what angle to the wind can you get? 2) where should we position for optimal sai?l 3) would weight forward help the small Keel "catch" and reduce the leeway effect? Other: Has this leeway been happening all the time in moderate to Heavy winds, or does my sail shape correct this? Thanks as always.

Sounds like you got it under control. Most of those things probably happen to us all at some point. You don't know what to expect until you sail it, then you get the understanding needed to correct it. Enjoy!

Replaced the cheek face plate and used steel straps to secure the problems I had with the rudder housing. Tacks fine and Sails great. Winds at 5 to 8, loving every minute of it. For folks having trouble with tacks, I tried the "kegging" I think that is what it is called where you whip the rudder back and forth with the tiller to gain, sort of a prop effect, to encourage the tack on through. Works fine.

Had 20 mph gusts today. Consistently 10 to 15 - really solid feel, without the heel I was expecting in that kind of wind. EXCEPT, 1/2 into the sail, the cheek mounting spacer tore. My oh my it was fun before that happened. Had considerable weather helm. This baby sails good, except without a rudder. I knew I should have used hard wood on that. Got a friendly tow. Tough on the pride - But I will fix it better, now that I know the weak spots. I am gonna ditch the club foot, It is just not responsive to tacking that fast, I'm used to yanking the sheet over quick to help my tack, this club foot works but it is not quick enough to grab air and help the tack like I'd prefer. Bud - I'll send you some contact info - Sounds like a good time. I work in Chattanooga quite a bit - so no biggie on the miles.