Bill Paxton

I've got four pounds of weight in my new rudder, and it seems just right. Like Dave I used two packages of duck decoy weights, and epoxied them into a cavity in the rudder.

One of the handiest mods I made was to enclose the gaff jaws so they can't get caught in the shrouds. Another mod was removing the cabin and running the seats forward. If you look closely you'll see I didn't use chain plates, but anchored the shrouds through a reinforced section of deck.

For what it's worth, here's a link to a thread from 2 years ago on this site where some of us discussed how we used metal for a shoe: http://www.messing-about.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3402

What a beautiful Mother's Day gift for Kari. I'm sure she loved it.

UN-BEE-LEEVABLE! If you bring the Julie K to Lake Pepin I probably won't even take the cover off of my boat.

That's a cool boat, Blacksmith. Any chance we might get to see her in person at the Lake Pepin Messabout (http://tinyurl.com/y8v6es) on June 1-3?

This is a reminder that the Lake Pepin Messabout is only five weeks away - June 1-3. Let me know soon if you need tent space. I want to make sure we have enough room for anyone who wants it. Thanks to you campers who've already checked in with me. You can find full event details at http://tinyurl.com/y8v6es. Be sure to invite your boat-loving friends. Contact me if you have any questions. Bill Paxton

Welcome back, Arlen! Great to hear from you again. Here's another idea for getting more cockpit space: eliminate the lazarette. Jeff Tam is a Weekender builder who lives in our area, and that is what he did. I posted two photos of his boat at http://www.flickr.com/photos/58781034@N00/465056899/in/photostream/ Also, let me personally invite you to the Lake Pepin Messabout on June 1-3 http://tinyurl.com/y8v6es. There's nothing healthier than spending the weekend sailing and talking boats. Besides, we haven't seen you since the Yankton messabout in '01. Bill

Hi, Steve. Just east of St. Paul, MN is Hooper's Yachts. www.hoopersyachts.com It's a bit farther than SC, but they can handle the job.

Lugnut is sailing a Jim Michalak design called Frolic2. http://www.duckworksbbs.com/plans/jim/frolic2/index.htm

The closest thing to real time that I found this year is the Challenge Results. http://watertribe.com/DataAccess/Results.aspx Select the race and the class that you want and it will show you how people are doing per the checkpoints.

I took a lot of shots on Friday and Saturday and posted them on flickr, along with the photos of several others. You can find them at http://flickr.com/photos/tags/watertribe/ Cap'n Bill

I think the photos are a little easier on the eyes when in B&W.

Good to hear from you, Scott. Boats have a way of calling to us, and I'm glad you heard the call. I want to extend an invitation to you to join us at the Lake Pepin Messabout in Lake City, MN this summer. (http://tinyurl.com/y8v6es) You're not that far away, especially since guys from Idaho and Saginaw, MI are coming. Hope you can make it.

Charlie is right. If you plug "sampan" into Google you'll find lots of websites and photos.

Greetings, homebuilt boat enthusiasts. It's my pleasure to invite you to the Lake Pepin Messabout on June 1-3 in beautiful Lake City, MN. You can find all the details on the official messabout website: http://tinyurl.com/y8v6es Bill Paxton

Lately I've been wondering about using Jim Michalak's rudder design on a Weekender. You might think of it as half a rudder box. My Weekender has a lot of weather helm, and the forces exerted on the rudder would probably rip the thing apart. However, I know that on more balanced boats, this design works well. (I have no complaints about the Weekender design. I'm just saying that my boat ended up with a lot of weather helm.) You can find Jim's essay on his rudder design at: http://marina.fortunecity.com/breakwater/274/1999/0601/index.htm

It's not only inconvenient, but it can be downright dangerous when the gaff jaws tangle with the shrouds. Here's what I did to solve the problem. I made the jaws out of ply per Bolger's design for the tiny catboat. The jaws are longer than the Stevenson plans call for to accommodate the cross piece on the end. Note that the ends of the cross piece are rounded, and because they are attached with bolts, they can be easily undone to remove the gaff from the mast. Once the ends of the jaws are enclosed they can't snag the shrouds. Here's another view: Note that the mainsail is laced to the mast with a very soft, pliable line. This makes raising and lowering the sail very easy.

Anyone who can build such a nice looking model will have no trouble producing a first-rate boat. I hope you treat us to some progress photos as you build. Enjoy the process!

Merry Christmas to all messers.

I'm interested. That's a great time of year for a messabout. Here are a few things that seem to make a good one: * good sailing venue * camping space * nearby boat ramp with plenty of parking * promotion through Duckworks and boatbuilding websites like this one * minimal amount of structure and organization * a web page where people can go for full details, like http://www.paxtonconsulting.com/2006_MN_Messabout.html That's about it.

Your modified pram reminds me of the hull of Michalak's Scram Pram. http://www.duckworksbbs.com/plans/jim/scram_pram/index.htm

All I know about him is that he launched the boat at the Arkansas messabout last year.

The Stevensons themselves built the "removable cabin" Weekender. You can view it at http://www.stevproj.com/KauaiWkndr.html Here's a picture of it:

Another option is to take the cabin off of the Weekender. I can take four comfortably in the 10' cockpit.