Bill Paxton

If you'd like to make two-part oars from PVC, check out http://www.diybob.com/oars.htm

I used 3/8" line for the lacing.

I took Phil's suggestion and laced my sail to the mast using very soft, flexible line. I've been using lacing for five years now with no problems at all. A couple of years ago in Key West we took a ride on a 60' schooner, and I was amused to see that those big sails were laced on, too.

Both Dave Richards and Jeff Tam did a nice job of installing open seats in their Weekenders. It creates a lot more room, and solves trapped-water problem. I've added some pictures of their solution to my Gallery on this site, but I can't seem to make them appear in this message. Bill

Happy "Talk Like a Pirate Day," you scurvey dogs! http://www.talklikeapirate.com/piratehome.html Captain Billy

Over on the BYYB, Bob Butler is selling molds to make a fiberglass Weekender. Check it out at http://tinyurl.com/8o82x

Here's a run down of who was there: Rob Rohde-Szudy brought his Bolger Light Scooner Dave Richards had his Weekender Julie K John Metzner's Weekender As You Wish Jeff, Joan and Mike Tam brought Three Cheeks, their Weekender Nancy and I brought Surprise Craig Bursell brought his fast Skipjack Black Bark Very late in the day Ken Harter launched his Drascombe Longboat. Below is a link to the rest of the photos. http://tinyurl.com/8e9ul

Thanks for your help and the tip, Frank.

I started out with the marlin hitch, but encountered the problems Frank noted. I switched to a plain spiral lacing for the boom and gaff, and am quite happy with it. I've notice that's the way many Friendship Sloops lace the sail to the spars. I also lace the sail to the mast, using a back-and-forth method. When we were in Key West we sailed on a 60' schooner that had attached its sails to the mast and the spars in exactly that same way. (There's a photo that illustrates this in my gallery, but I can't seem to make it show up in this post.)

If you check the photos in my Gallery you'll see the mods I made. They make life so much easier. http://www.messing-about.com/photopost/showgallery.php?ppuser=54&cat=500&thumb=1

Well, I'm jealous. That's a boat I've long admired, and you did an outstanding job. Congratulations!

Congratulations on your maiden voyage! Now you can join those of us who tweak our boats endlessly.

The winch roller is the typical "bow tie" shape. The original roller was black and left black scuff marks on the stem. I replaced it with a clear roller and solved the problem.

Sorry to see the stem delam, but it looks like you've got a good fix in place. My only question was how you got the bow eye out. My assumption is that it's held in place by nuts screwed in place inside the forepeak...which seems like they would be really hard to reach. Unless, of course, you dropped Ian and a wrench into the forepeak.

The Buzzards Bay 14 is very much like Joel White's Haven 12 1/2. http://www.havensailboats.com/havenphotos.htm These boats inspired by efforts to build an open Weekender. If its any help to you, you can find my building photos at http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/paxton_consulting/album?.dir=069a&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos

Messers brought a wide variety of boats including a Cosine Wherry with forward-facing rowing, a small sailing pram, a Norwalk Island Sharpie 31, and a 30-year old 14

I've got a Weekender that I've towed with my Outback for four seasons with no problems at all. The boat and trailer weigh around 1,000 pounds.

A fella once asked me what the most difficult step was in building my boat. I said, "Whatever was next."

Thanks, Capt. Jack, for confirming once again that "There is nothing -- absolute NOTHING -- half so much worth doing as simply messing-about in boats."

Tim, I agree that Arcebus is a truly unique craft. It turns out that Greg will launch it for the firtst time at the messabout. Here's his link http://arcebus.net/Spring2005PreLaunchUpdate.htm

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That's a great looking boat, Tom. Congratulations! You are now among the small percentage of the world's population that knows the feeling that comes only from sailing a boat you built.

That looks great, Dave. Good to see the Julie K again. Can't wait to see how she handles with her new motor.

Hi, Bob. Your open-deck Weekender was the inspiration for my own boat, Surprise. I printed the pictures of your boat from the Stevenson website and used them to help me think through the design. Of course it also helped that you responded to my emails with very helpful tips. We launched her on June 4, 2001, and have enjoyed every minute of sailing her. Thanks for showing the way. Pictures of Surprise are at http://www.stevproj.com/WkndrBBB11.html which includes a link to even more photos.

Sounds like it's time to get that boat in the water for some testing, Dave. Let me know if you want to test her some this weekend. If it ever stops raining we could sneak out and go sailing.