Donold

Jim has kindly sent me a number of useful photographs including some related to the lengthened slot for the off-center swing keel. In addition I received a reply from John Pruitt indicating he will send me the plans for his usual fee of $40 and I await same. Since this thread is about paint and I have had a chance to study some of Jim's pictures, I recall that the documented build of the "Just Right" Vagabond 23 featured all plywood panels coated with epoxy on both sides while Jim's Primrose has a very nice uniform coating of white over what looks like raw plywood. I am surprised that there seems to be only a few NF 15 boats so far after seeing Jim's excellent rendition. So here is my latest question: Did Jim use an expoxy paint on the interior after construction, basically on every internal surface? I think that is a practical way to seal joints and pores of the interior wood and cheaper than starting by coating all the wood before construction. And for the record, what is the external paint by brand and type? The finished boat looks as good as gel-coated fiberglass! Donold

Jim, I am interested in the NF 15 but find Mid-Western Engineering seems to no longer replies to e-mail or telephone. Do you think John Pruitt will still supply plans? I was very interested in one of your other pictures of the bottom showing a rather long slot for the dagger board as if you allow for it to fold back upon hitting an underwater object or beaching. A simple dagger board seems contrary to the shallow draft in my opinion so it looks like you have solved that problem? Donold

Beautiful Interior, headroom and an excellent design overall. I have admired the features of this design for quite some time and the interior is even better than I thought but now that I see it I wonder about the thin hull material. The weight of 1100-1200 pounds is excellent from the point of sailing and towing but I wonder about the "eggshell" effect with such a thin hull for that size boat. Any idea of the "crashworthiness"? Otherwise the best design I have ever seen! Do you think 3/8" plywood could make that bend at the bow or maybe two layers of 1/4" might be better as shown on the Princess 22? Donold

Dear Sailors, this is my first post here. I have previously built a Bolger Teal (twice). The first version truncated the stern to make a flat iron sharpie and a Sunfish sail proved to be perfect. The second Teal was built according to plans and proved to be sort of a cayak/canoe with the pointed stern. I have my garage tied up with a hobby car project that is nearing completion and I am considering various pocket cruiser plans. Has anyone here ever seen, sailed or heard of the "Blue Moon" design given on http://www.grandpasarchive.com/boatplans/sail/blue-moon.pdf By reading between the lines and gaining experience reading many plans over the last few years it would seem that the stern of the Blue Moon is too narrow. The writeup notes that a 50 pound bag of sand is needed in the bow for balance and I interpret that to mean the stern "squats" and no wonder with that narrow transom. I am interested in a very inexpensive buildup that will last me a few years while I am active, but not break the bank so I am considering using exterior plywood with epoxy coating. My inclination would be to increase the width of the transom to almost the same size as the maximum beam, maybe just four inches narrower than the maximum beam. The sail looks to be a bit too small but that might help stability and the wider transom should also add stability. Overall the Blue Moon hull shape looks to be too wide for much speed but might have a little more interior room than the Glen-L Minuet and cheaper to build. I like the idea that the Blue Moon has space beside the main bunk for a small stove and a porta-potti in the cabin. All I want is shallow draft and interior space to change clothes or camp in. Although this design looks to be slow that is not very important to me since a small outboard will be used anyway. With all the experience here on this Forum are there any critical comments about the Blue Moon design, good or bad? Donold