Steve W

Jay, thanks for the update......she's beautiful!

Wow! Congratulations. Crossing the finish line is a big deal. Loved the video! Take Care, Steve

FWIW, On Skeena I carry an adjustable length SUP paddle. It allows me to reach the water from standing or kneeling. It also works well to fend from docks when I'm by myself.

Don, The poles are linked in the writeup. Jay, I love the pics of the Flinders. I hope to see it in person at some point. Also, that would be a great boat for Maine. We had a wonderful trip up (Video in previous post) there this year and I think it's going to turn into an annual. And yes, Skeena does a bit of hunting at anchor, and deploying the shade helps a lot. But I do like the idea of a riding sail. Take Care, Steve

I've had some questions about the canopy my son Teddy made for Skeena. It's four years old and still looks great. Here is a pic from when we first made it. I will measure it's dimensions soon. I bought these poles which are quite sturdy. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GBY77WV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1&psc=1 They can be folded down, but since I've never had to, I think flexible wood slats would work fine. The key here is flexibility. The whole rig is under tenson and can spring/deflect a bit in high wind. I left the rig out when we first built it for a week in the yard, with the mindset that if we didn't build it good, it didn't have a place on the boat. To erect it fast, I use a strap that I wrap around the mizzen mast twice and clip. Then I walk forward with the long line that is attached to the forward loop. I wrap this around the main mast one full wrap and then tighten it with one of these. Don't be judgy.......Yes, you clever knot tying people could probably knot (see what I did there) need that. https://www.amazon.com/Carabiner-Clip-Rope-Tightener-4-1/dp/B000QGJN60?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1&psc=1 On the way aft after getting the ridge under tension, I clip the four forward side clips. The four front ones clip to D-rings I installed along the hatch runners. The two aft ones go to D-Rings I added to the outside of the boat, just aft of the mizzen. It's so quick to rig I'll often do it in the midle of the aftenoon having lunch at anchorage just to get a break from the sun. As for the material, I have no idea as my son bought it. But it's something like this: https://www.sailrite.com/SureRite-Charcoal-Gray-60-Fabric When not in use I roll the whole thing, poles and all. Hope this helps.

Samantha, great write-up. If you follow my writing on Skeena, you know how much of a fan of this design I am. I did the Sailish 100 with a friend in a Cornish Shrimper 19 a few years ago. Great boat in heavy wind, but not great in the light winds we had. I was wishing I had Skeena the entire time. That is an amazing place to sail. As for the awning, I'll add my .02. My very clever son Teddy came up with this design: It's fantastic. It stands up to 20+ knots of wind and gives me protection from rain going down the hatchway. It provides a nice dew free place to emerge in the morning. And it's high enough that it allows good 360degree visibility. I'm going to post the parts/size on my page if your interested. Anyway, Congratulations. I know how much work it is to get to where you are! Take Care, Steve

FWIW, I took that weak mechanism off my 2.5 when it bent. I now use a lanyard and loop. See pic. Easier to latch, more secure. I tow Skeena with the motor mounted, but not tilted. I do have a lock on the motor.

As promised (love this boat) .......

Hi jeff, I just noticed this thread. It took me a minute to realize you added a cabin. That makes things a bit trickier. I really like the B & B setup in the video, but I'm constantly dialed in to figure out how to launch Skeena, my 20.3 faster and running all that line seems complicated. I have my mizzen like Graham's. My main has two downhauls both with enough line to extend each hook to the first reef point. If I need to reef, I start by sheeting the mizzen in tight. If I'm solo, I pull up the C-board and rudder. The boat will just drift backward, under nice control as the mizzen keeps it head to wind. If I'm not in a place where backing up is desirable, I'll drop my outboard down, start it and put it in gear a bit faster than idle, without the rudder or c-board down. She'll stay head to wind and just sit still. This trick works great if you need time to sort stuff out, but my reefing is fast so I rarely do this. If I have crew, they steer me head to wind. Next, I lower the halyard to a spot I have marked with a sharpie, then pull on my second downhaul that was hooked during rigging. My aft reef is as designed with the cleat on the aft end of the main sprit and I reach up and pull it tight. If I'm ambitious I'll tie a few aft sail ties so things look a bit neater. A little snotter and I'm sailing again. This takes a minute at most unless I add the motor, than it's two. Taking the reef out is the reverse and is simple. It get's trickier if the wind speed is predicted to increase. If that is the case I go forward below decks and pop my head out of the hatch and move the original looses downhaul to the third grommet. Looking at your cabin and the distance the cabin hatch is from the base of the mast makes this look tricky. It might be wise to think of a third downhaul. Adding the second reef is a continuation of the steps above. If I didn't make myself clear, LMK. I'm heading to the MASCF and I can take pictures/ video. I will mention that a few of my sailing buddies and I have gone to boats with cabins. We refer to ourselves in our group as "Cabin Class" Welcome to cabin class. Take Care, Steve

The link worked! That brings back a lot of mostly good memories! Nice work.

She looks great. Thanks for kindling memories from my 11N!

Alan, maybe an option! I'm sure if it was designed from the beginning, it could have been a bit lighter.

After 5 years of laying down and reaching to the abyss of the aft storage behind the bunks, I finally did something about it. Here it is. The new deck is even with the bunks and now stuff just slides out like butter. I will store heavy stuff (camp chair, radar reflector, etc.) below and sleeping bags, clothes, guitar, etc. above. I haven't tabbed the sides into the hull yet as it's been really hot and stuffy working in there, but they are rock solid on the stringers. Negatives are a little weight added. I am very happy with this mod.

I do what Don has shown in the pics. I usually put sail ties around the sail and sprit together. If you undo the downhaul, you can pull the whole bundle up the sail track. With a topping lift (I use my mizzen staysail halyard) you can get the whole rig up and out of your way. This is probably the best pic I have although the topping lift is normally pulled higher.

I'm of no help other than to add that having compass that's easy to read is a joy. I use mine mostly to hold course or make sure whoever I'm sailing with is holding course. I know you are younger than me, so make sure you anticipate the days of older eyes. Bigger and closer are better. I added that same Silva compass I had on Wildcat and it was just too small where it was mounted on Skeena. Here is the backlit big font upgrade on the cockpit forward bulkhead. Sadly, it's hard to see exactly where this is. I'll shoot a better pic tonight.