arnie

Welcome to the forum. I am in the Riga area and could not find marine ply. So I have built a Spindrift 11 using the locally made birch ply. I have not glassed the hull at all. This was about 4 years ago and she is still holding up very well. I used System 3 expoxy and the primer and paint from the Riga paint factory which believe it or not turns out to be excellent paint. It really is very hard wearing. My son and I use the boat mainly as a row boat as we live next to the Maza Jugla river and we wanted a boat to mess about in and do some fishing. If you wish to come and have a look you will be most welcome. This summer we plan to make a birds nest mast get the sails made up and start sailing on the local lakes. Just received a copy of Sailing for Dummies via Amazon.com. So a lot of learning ahead.

Hello everyone! I have been following the forum for a little while and would like to echo the sentiments of all newbies, in that I find this forum very interesting and helpful. It certainly encouraged me to have a go, and build my own boat a Spindrift 11 hull nr 690. Having a river at the bottom of the garden seemed to demand we have a boat! Like Kentsu I used Baltic ply with the grain running in the wrong direction. However I decided to scarf one full sheet with a half sheet as per instructions but with the grain for the stressed end running in the right direction. This seems to have worked. I hope it will stand the test of time! For now we have a row boat which is proving a great hit with all the family. So much so that I decided to order a set of sails to see how she performs on the local lakes. I feel for you Kentsu, but maybe you could build the moccasin out of scarfed up Baltic birch ply. Don't lose heart. Try again. Heres a picture of my son messing about in the Spindrift. Sorry, but for some reason I can't post the photo!