rattus

I like the idea of a T <photo> "ransom locker". Every boat should have a full one ;-) Mike

How do you plan on routing the outhauls through a curved wishbone? It would be great if you had a solution; but every time I think about it I feel friction. Maybe guide wheels? Inquiring minds want to know ;-) One thought I had was to route the outhaul alongside the bottom edge of the sail w/ a pulley on mast. Mike

That's the problem; I've rarely been to a seminar outside of my field that wasn't designed to separate a fool from his money. The problem started when your friend went to an earlier seminar about buying timeshares ;-) "Seminar" is a red flag word to me nowadays. Mike

Beautiful boat, nice job! If that's your daughter on the crew, keep inviting her aboard - you'll get her hooked for life. Mike

That's what I liked about the Jetboil (with the pot support/stability kit) - the stove stores *inside* the pot, the (folding) tripod legs make it tip-proof, and the diffuser ring on the pot firmly affixes the pot to the burner. Boil time should be important, as it directly relates to the quantity of fuel you'll need to carry. Mike

I know where I saw this conversation before - right here! http://messing-about...h__1#entry65121 Mark himself replied in the thread. Sheesh - the memory, it ain't what it used to be... we're trapped in the world of circular references! Mike

Scott, are you talking about the Bowdidge method? http://www.bowdidgemarinedesigns.com/Bowdidge_Marine_Designs_1/Strip_Planking_Videos.html I like the idea, but wonder about making sure all the gaps are completely filled; perhaps seeing it squirt through the inside gaps is evidence enough? ;-) Mike

Yes - but it (the Century) looks suspiciously Chinese, what with the "stainless" and all... The Trangia looks like a nice bit of kit, but it'll probably take 15 minutes to boil a liter of water vs. 3 or so for the Jetboil. Mike

Hey Joe, we have found that a Jetboil stove + cooking kit and Aeropress for the java side meet all our small boat and camping (2 adults, 2 kids) needs, while being small and lightweight. Nothing beats the Jetboil for boiling speed and fuel efficiency on canisters, while the Aeropress lives up to its reviews for outstanding coffee or espresso underway. In our experience, the Jetboil French press accessory, while clever, does tend to taint the pot with coffee flavor and lets some grounds past. We lasted a week in the Baja outback on one canister and still had gas left! http://www.rei.com/p...-cooking-system http://www.amazon.co...s/dp/B001HBCVX0 Mike

Beautiful work! I think you may have a clearance issue with your head location ;-) Mike

The Buffett version was from "License to Chill" - his crossover country album (2004); that performance was a collaboration with Alan Jackson. As was his other boatbuilding essential song, "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" ;-) Somehow I like it better than the Guy Clark version (the original author). Jerry Jeff Walker did a version too. Mike

Excellent. Thank you. Mike

Hi Scott, do you have a pointer to that "spaced" strip-build technique? Thanks, Mike

John, I hesitate to correct you, but the Lapwing is actually 42% more beautiful. Exactly. ;-) Mike

Very nice work, Lance. Thanks for keeping us posted on your progress. That boat sure has some sexy curves. Way too much of my budget goes to Lee Valley tools too! Mike

Hmm - wouldn't it be cool if one designed a mast fitting (details to be left as an exercise for the reader ;-) ) that allowed the half boom to be rotated at anchor so that the curve is up to be used as a ridge for a roomy cockpit tent? Mike

Michael Storer, designer of the Goat Island Skiff, has an excellent blog post on trimming for downwind sailing with a cat ketch with explanations and footage from the Texas 200 to demonstrate. Fascinating. http://www.storerboatplans.com/wp/design/rig/sails/sailing-unstayed-cat-ketches-and-cat-yawls-safely-and-efficiently-downwind-in-strong-winds/ His is a more unbalanced sail plan (mizzen is quite a bit smaller than the main) but I believe the sail positioning tips would also apply to CS designs. If a picture is worth a thousand words, perhaps a video is worth a thousand pictures! ;-) Mike

Ray, my ears tell me that the correct spelling is "Hahbah", not "Harbah". Then again, I'm ex-New Hampshah, so it could be a localized dialect thing ;-) You cahn't get theah from heah! Mike

Actually, that's keeping the thinking, and all potential protrusions, *inside* the box! Mike

Undoubtedly for morale improvement.

Yeah, I though the same thing, and that bending inch-and-a-half plywood would be pretty tough! Mike

Louvered head doors are usually appreciated more by the occupant of said head than those in the cabin. Very nice work, though ;-) Mike

I've always liked the layout of the Pacific Seacraft (now just Seacraft) Dana 24:

Damn - and I had been hoping some of the sheets were tortured plywood ;-) I think that's great that you were able to thermoform such large sheets and seriously minimize the number of joins. Sounds like a version of the Farrier vertical-strip setup, writ huge. Was this vacuum bagged or infused? How long are the sheets workable once removed from the oven? Mike

Graham, is that shape accomplished entirely without strip planking? If so, this may be one of the the most curvaceous shapes ever made with sheet goods! Why the clipper bow on the, for want of a better term, "upper hull"? How did you tape the bows, especially the lower one? What's the designed draft? The panels look somewhat foamy... Mike