Mark Gudschinsky Posted January 16, 2004 Posted January 16, 2004 Hello my name is Laura. :angel: This year I'm building a Skipjack named The Diamond. I think I might paint it light blue. My symbol will be the Diamond. My dad, me and my brother are almost done with The Flyer. It is a Weekender. Before I am going to build the Skipjack I will help my brother Alexander finish the Amphora first. Quote
Frank Hagan Posted January 16, 2004 Posted January 16, 2004 Welcome Laura! You are going to have a family of boats there soon ... but your dad is pretty smart, because with almost everyone in the family building boats, no one will object if he wants to build another one after the Weekender! Quote
Barry Pyeatt Posted January 16, 2004 Posted January 16, 2004 Hi Laura, Welcome to the forum. Do you suppose that Alexander will help you with your Skipjack? Light blue will be a pretty nice color for the Skipjack. I had a sailboat painted light blue with white trim one time. It really looked nice. The Skipjack is a really nice looking boat. I think you will be happy with it. Are you going to build it with the standard sailplan or are you going to use a gaff mainsail and a jib like on the Flyer? It is a lot more involved than the Amphora, but once you understand how the Amphora is built, you will have it easy with the Skipjack. Let us know more about what is happening with the building of Mark's Amphora and how you like helping to build it. Then we will know more about you. Quote
Johannah Posted January 16, 2004 Posted January 16, 2004 Hey there, kiddo! 8) We can certainly use some more girls/women around here. This is a mottley crew but kind and friendly also. It's just great that your family has begun your own boat yard. Keep your eye out for posts from a gentleman (really, he is one) named Ed Jones. He knows a lot about building the skipjack and is good about answering questions. Have you seen his website? Quote
Charlie Jones Posted January 16, 2004 Posted January 16, 2004 Welcome Laura. Good to see a youngster involved in boats. My wife is also named Laura and she's a very talented sailor and boat woman. She raced Sunfish and then switched to a Dolphin Sr. Both of those boats are lateen rigged and she was good enough to whip the dickens out of all the men racing against her. In fact, she was #2 in the club when she stopped racing. The only one who beat her regularly was another woman So tell your dad and brother to expect some stiff competition when you get your boat done- you gotta carry on the name's tradition Quote
Ed Jones Posted January 16, 2004 Posted January 16, 2004 Laura welcome to the cult of insanity (boat building) :? I will be glad to answer any questions you may have while building your Skipjack. Check out my web site http://www.geocities.com/edskipjack/index.html and click on the Skipjack. The Pocket Cruiser is what I am building now. The Skipjack taught me a good lesson, "old fat men with stiff knees don't belong in small boats" so I will leave the small boats to the young and nimble. :wink: Quote
Greg Luckett Posted January 16, 2004 Posted January 16, 2004 Hello my name is Laura. :angel: This year I'm building a Skipjack named The Diamond. I think I might paint it light blue. My symbol will be the Diamond. My dad' date=' me and my brother are almost done with The Flyer. It is a Weekender. Before I am going to build the Skipjack I will help my brother Alexander finish the Amphora first.[/quote'] If memory serves me well, Alexander is 9. May I ask how old you are, Laura? I think it is really cool that you kids are building boats and doing it as a family Quote
MikeStevenson Posted January 16, 2004 Posted January 16, 2004 Welcome to the group Laura! Your family has picked great boats to build. When you're finished withthe Skipjack you may be surprised at how fun it is to sail: You may be able to beat your dad's Weekender. We look forward to seeing all of your family's projects come together. Mike Quote
High C Posted January 16, 2004 Posted January 16, 2004 Hi Laura, and welcome. I have a Weekender, and I sure do like the looks of the Skipjack, too. I look forward to seeing your work as it progresses. Quote
Mark Gudschinsky Posted January 17, 2004 Author Posted January 17, 2004 Yes Alexander will help me with the Skipjack. I don't know what kind of sail I will use. I'm a little nervous about sending these posts because i've never done it before. I am 7 years old. Quote
Greg Luckett Posted January 17, 2004 Posted January 17, 2004 The Amphora book came yesterday. Ben (7) and Sam (9) are really excited about building it. I am going to get the materials gathered and ready for them to start next month. That is really a great looking boat! Laura, you are posting just fine! If you like, I could have Sam and Ben email you and Alexander? You all could share boat building stories then. Quote
Mark Gudschinsky Posted January 18, 2004 Author Posted January 18, 2004 Greg, As the dad and supervisor of our project, I'm going to direct a few minor modification on the Amphora. One will be a bit of floatation; our Alaskan waters are cold. Also I think I'll have them build a wooden mast with a small float to prevent it from going all the way over when it does go over. We're also thinking about adding an extra stringer to below the deck around the cockpit (for a bit more strength.) If we get a head start on building we'll keep you informed of discoveries. Quote
Greg Luckett Posted January 18, 2004 Posted January 18, 2004 Would the float on the mast look like a ball at the top? I have seen something like that on small production boats around here. Water temperatures in Lake Michigan are very close to 30F this time of year, and often are in the low 60s in the summer. Being fresh water, things are not as buoyant. The water temperatures and hypothermia are a big concern of mine too. I have started adding floatation to any boat I build, and ones which I refurbish too. A 30 year old man, married with two little girls, disappeared off our North Pier last Monday. No body yet, but it has been too rough for the divers to go in. He was noticed missing after about 20 minutes and the search began right away. At these water temps, hypothermia only takes a minute or two before there is not any strength left to climb out, and another minute to not have the strength to tread water. The pier was icy and dangerous. Stupid, foolish actions leading to loss of life IMHO. It happens all over the Great Lakes. Lake Superior has ice floating in it year round. Please let us know how the modifications work out. We will not begin until Febuary. Thanks. Quote
Johannah Posted January 18, 2004 Posted January 18, 2004 Folks, there is such a great opportunity here for two families building boats with children of similar ages! I remember Alexander saying that he would be using his boat work for a school report of some sort. Cross-state cooperation makes the projects even better from an educational point of view. Laura, you are doing very well with your writing. We will be here for you as a cheering section and I'm way over in Philadelphia. (Get dad or mum to show you where people are on the map.) Quote
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