Mike Pennington Posted July 7, 2004 Posted July 7, 2004 John Welsford, has a design called the Navigator and the larger Pathfinder, it caught my eye and I thought it might meet my needs for sailing out of Valdez and Homer. http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/store/plans/jw/pathfinder/index.htm I found a forum, and I will be making some inquireies there, but of coarse I thought to ask those folks whose advise I trust the most first. What do you think of this boat? If you know of another design, that might meet my needs of a rough water day sailor, please feel free to share the link. This will be a long term project, especially since I have so many others to finish. :roll: Quote
Mike Pennington Posted July 7, 2004 Author Posted July 7, 2004 Hmm, I read a thread we had going in 2003, I though I remembered something about this boat and Welsford. But that was about the time they sliced and diced my colon, I mind was else where and my opinions are different now. Buck, seemed to think the guys designs were hard to build. Well, I know my limits with the Vacationer now, like the disclaimer suggests, sheltered waters. Yesterday's sail with my immediate family, about left me frazzled wondering which one I was going to tie down first. I guess they did okay, first sail of the season all five of us on board. Hey no one went swimming, thank God, because it would have been hard to go back to get them. :roll: The grandaughter is a hand full and cramps the long sails we used to go on. It will come in time I suppose. :wink: Quote
Craig Posted July 7, 2004 Posted July 7, 2004 MIke I had the whole bunch in my boat over the 4th. 6 adults, food, drinks ,ice, and all the junk the girls had to take. She sailed like a pig! Too much weight and too low in the water. Couldn't very well trim cause everyone was wandering around all the time. I finally had to tell the girlfriend to sit her ass down and stay put. Almost hit a channel marker cause she makes a better door than a window. Can't get to the high side cause the bench is full of people. Actually with the Vac as drawn, 4 is a boat load. Quote
Frank Hagan Posted July 7, 2004 Posted July 7, 2004 They look like open boats, which can be fun for daysailing. I'm not expert enough to say if they would do well in your coastal waters, but generally speaking, the designers "down under" create some very sea worthy designs. I've always been partial to boats with cabins, thinking that I can anchor and get out of the weather, or go overnight somewhere. But its hard to argue with the folks that say most of the time you're sailing, and not camping, and why give up all that room to a cabin you don't ever use? Quote
adla Posted July 7, 2004 Posted July 7, 2004 I bought the plans for that boat...the Navigator, that is. A gal named Barrett has a great site that shows the building process. I stalk her when I am not stalking Phil G. She does a great job of photographing the whole process. There is also a yahoo discussion group...but i am on the wrong computer to share the link to Barretts imagestation site and the yahoo list. The open boat appealed to me and so did the shape/design. I pour over the plans from time to time....wishing i had more free time but mostly wishing it wasn't 110 degrees.... adla Quote
John B Posted July 7, 2004 Posted July 7, 2004 There's some stories, links etc here http://www.woodenboat.net.nz/ If you do nothing else , you MUST read the story about cruising the yasawas. Quote
Greg Luckett Posted July 7, 2004 Posted July 7, 2004 I bought the plans for that boat...the Navigator' date=' that is. A gal named Barrett has a great site that shows the building process. I stalk her when I am not stalking Phil G. She does a great job of photographing the whole process. There is also a yahoo discussion group...but i am on the wrong computer to share the link to Barretts imagestation site and the yahoo list. The open boat appealed to me and so did the shape/design. I pour over the plans from time to time....wishing i had more free time but mostly wishing it wasn't 110 degrees.... adla[/quote'] What is the link, thankyou? Quote
Mike Pennington Posted July 8, 2004 Author Posted July 8, 2004 Adla, yeah, Barrett's link please, I couldn't find it on my own. John B, very cool. I have gotten a taste of trailer sailing, to various parts of Alaska. I try to sail a different lake or bay every year. Kindred spirit. Craig, agreed, more than four is pushing my limit if not the boats :roll: I think I'll just stick with the first mate for awhile. Frank, the Pathfinder was designed with an optional cabin Over all, from builder photos I think the boat may be a challenge for my skill level, or non existant boat shed capacity. However, I will keep this boat in mind, if I find that house that is mostly all shop. :wink: Mike Quote
Greg Luckett Posted July 8, 2004 Posted July 8, 2004 There's some stories' date=' links etc herehttp://www.woodenboat.net.nz/ If you do nothing else , you MUST read the story about cruising the yasawas.[/quote'] Thanks for the link! I always enjoy learning about other places and peoples. Good sailing story too. Quote
John B Posted July 8, 2004 Posted July 8, 2004 Cool story eh. Dave Perillo has his own site here http://www.openboat.co.nz/ a bit of duplication with the other site but worth a good scout through. Barrett has been detailing her build progress on the woodenboat site ... building/ repair forum. Very interesting watching the process. Quote
Tim Diebert Posted July 8, 2004 Posted July 8, 2004 The Nav and the Pathfinder are SERIOUS designs. Very able boats. Anything designed by John will be fast, solid and stable. He is very helpful to folks building his designs. JMHO. I quite like Sweet Pea.....though I would build it slightly different. Quote
adla Posted July 8, 2004 Posted July 8, 2004 sorry this took so long! I am stretched WAY TOO THIN for time the LINK is: http://www.imagestation.com/album/review.html?id=4288806687 The Yahoo group is JWBuilders. There has been occassional off topic spam so you have to get John's (the designers) approval but I am sure he would welcome any interested people to the list. Barrett makes the boat building look pretty easy. Her pictures are outstanding....enjoy! Adla Quote
adla Posted July 8, 2004 Posted July 8, 2004 geez i really stink at posting links. You can find Barrett on the wooden boat forum too. She posts her updates there. It is a more serious design but it still doesn't look impossible. She is building two of them. :shock: try this http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4288806687&idx=108 a. Quote
Frank Hagan Posted July 8, 2004 Posted July 8, 2004 sorry this took so long! I am stretched WAY TOO THIN for timethe LINK is: http://www.imagestation.com/album/review.html?id=4288806687 The Yahoo group is JWBuilders. There has been occassional off topic spam so you have to get John's (the designers) approval but I am sure he would welcome any interested people to the list. Barrett makes the boat building look pretty easy. Her pictures are outstanding....enjoy! Adla Let these folks know I would be happy to sponsor a forum on messing-about.com for the JWBuilders. Yahoo has gotten so bad with the advertisements on every email, or popping up between messages on the website, that I have quit participating in any of the Yahoo groups. They would have to put up with my banners at the top of the page, but that would be it. That goes for any other groups of well behaved :!: boat builders (I've always wondered where all those Bolgerites go!) Quote
Tim Diebert Posted July 8, 2004 Posted July 8, 2004 Thanks for the link. VERY nice. I really love John's designs. Quote
adla Posted July 8, 2004 Posted July 8, 2004 Let these folks know I would be happy to sponsor a forum on messing-about.com for the JWBuilders. Yahoo has gotten so bad with the advertisements on every email, or popping up between messages on the website, that I have quit participating in any of the Yahoo groups. They would have to put up with my banners at the top of the page, but that would be it.That goes for any other groups of well behaved boat builders (I've always wondered where all those Bolgerites go!) i mostly lurk there but will pass the message on to John. He is totally "Mr. Helpful" with his designs....that was one of the deciding factors in purchasing the plans. He is easily accessible and i am sure that will come in handy. Wouldn't it be great if you hosted a page for them...i wouldn't have to run all over the net to stalk my favorite designers/builders. Adla Quote
Frank Hagan Posted July 8, 2004 Posted July 8, 2004 I took the liberty of emailing John and letting him know I would host a forum for his boats here like I do for B&B Yacht Designs. I'm willing to do that for any group that will get some traffic, and where the design or company representative is willing to pop in to answer questions. Quote
mustangermatt Posted July 9, 2004 Posted July 9, 2004 From what I have read glued lapstrake like welsfords boats is no more difficult than the stitch and glue I did on my coresound. In fact my next boat will definitely be glued lap because I like doing the wood work a whole lot better than the glass work :-) Quote
buck Posted July 9, 2004 Posted July 9, 2004 I'll pitch my 10 cents here. The Navigator is a fine and beautiful looking boat. It is smaller than a Weekender and lighter. It is also a lot harder to build with lots of scarfing you have to get right. Its not a boat a kackhanded jack of (thinking I can do anything) all trades person like my self should ever attempt. THe Weekender is pretty foolproof (even mine is straight and seaworthy). My other critism is that it is rather overbuilt John often can't decide to weither to be stitch and glue or fully framed. Hence the boats ends up a rather complex mixture of both. New Zealand is renowned for making fast light sailing dinghies but has almost no tradition of daysailers. It is good to see John being so successful. His book is really excellent, a must for every sailers bookcase. The crusing stories are inspiring. These boats are seaworthy competent designs, a little narrow but good in a chop. Rather like a Weekender really. Quote
Charlie Jones Posted July 9, 2004 Posted July 9, 2004 From what I understand, John is to be here on the Texas coast for a messabout some time in September. Laura and I may get a chance to sail with him here in Matagorda bay. I need to check times but as soon as I can verify, I'll let you know. The Navigator is a really good looking sea boat by the way. Quote
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