Tom Holder Posted October 27, 2004 Posted October 27, 2004 Has anyone ever seen a Birdwatcher II in action? I read the article in Wooden Boat about the Birdwatcher and find myself intrigued. Any opinions or experiences? Thanks. Quote
Guest Posted October 27, 2004 Posted October 27, 2004 Actually, I have just spent the last few weeks on the set of the study plans in that article, with speaking to another gentleman about the boat for a very shallow region of the country. He has owned many Maine style boats , and looked at the orginal one first. What is it that you are intrigued about? Its either a love-hate relationship. Quote
Tom Holder Posted October 27, 2004 Author Posted October 27, 2004 Well, it looks like a cross between a freighter canoe and a commuter train with a sail on top. I don't hate it but I don't love it either. I guess I'm drawn to the fact that you wouldn't see one on the lake every day of the week. Specifically, I guess I'm wondering what it would be like to sail "under glass", whether that would take away some of the fun, and what the boat would be like as a weekend camper. It says there's a spot for a portaloo and that you can divide it into "cabins" with curtains but it appears pretty spartan to me - which is OK, I'm a tent camper not a trailer camper. As well, I was wondering about the changes between v1.0 and v2.0 and why they came about. Any insight would be appreciated. Quote
Frank Hagan Posted October 27, 2004 Posted October 27, 2004 One of the things that has always surprised me about messing-about is that we don't get very many Bolger guys here. I think its probably because they get run out of so many places because so many of Bolger's designs are in the "love them or hate them" category. FWIW, I don't see any Bolger boats out here on the west coast. Quote
Guest Posted October 27, 2004 Posted October 27, 2004 Frank, FWIW, I have discussed that issue with many people and this what I get from them, the boats just are so unigue. I always enjoy reading peoples reasons, for one main reason, and that is how practical many of his boats are to the new comers , especially, and as a way to better serve the ones that ask me about them. I made no attempt to speak about them in any ill way, at all. Please feel free to remove any words that may sound that way. FWIW, I have been also speaking to a member here, Mr. Moon that rarely posts, and he will attempt to log on and add some words tonight on this subject. We have been discussing the differences of the original versus the new version as it applies to the building part of it. Quote
Charlie Jones Posted October 27, 2004 Posted October 27, 2004 I was wondering just what about a question about a Birdwatcher made it "Off Topic" on a boat building forum?? Tom- you might scan through Duckworks to see if there is any info there. Chuck leans toward "different" boats himself and that site just may have writeups- http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/ Quote
Greg Luckett Posted October 27, 2004 Posted October 27, 2004 My dinghy for the Laguna is a Bolger Nymph design #425, which I finished this spring. It rows nicely and motors well. I have not tried the sailing option, but I did modify the seat by enclosing it and putting foam inside to improve floatation. As Frank keeps telling everyone, this forum is not just for Stevenson designs, but boat building in general. Discussing a Bolger design is not off topic in any way shape or form. Quote
Guest Posted October 27, 2004 Posted October 27, 2004 Right on, Greg. That was what I was attempting to do, with my original question concerning him being intrigued. I placed a call to Mr. Moon, and he actually sent me the messingabout article, from the magazine, on pdf file for me to read, and be able to respond to some points, as I already had the Wooden Boat 179 article. I was not sure if it was the same one or not. There are some differences in the building parts and layout, from the first one. But I do not have any plans of the first one, though. The II cost I think 175, or close to it for a set of them. Quote
Greg Luckett Posted October 28, 2004 Posted October 28, 2004 Here are a couple of Bolger Nymph pictures of Nellie's Tender on her maiden voyage. [attachment over 4 years old deleted by admin] Quote
Tom Holder Posted October 28, 2004 Author Posted October 28, 2004 I was wondering just what about a question about a Birdwatcher made it "Off Topic" on a boat building forum??Tom- you might scan through Duckworks to see if there is any info there. Chuck leans toward "different" boats himself and that site just may have writeups- http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/ I guess I assumed the main forum is primarily for Stevenson designs. A Birdwatcher not as off-topic as some I've seen posted here but, as a design, it's kinda at the other end of the spectrum from the Weekender I've done a pretty intensive web search already and found very little - a few photos, a few mentions here and there. I was hoping someone had built one, sailed in one etc. There are several boats with a similar cabin structure designed by Jim Michelak (sp?) but not with the same hull design. I may have to shell out the 175 bones to cure my jones . . . Quote
Greg Luckett Posted October 29, 2004 Posted October 29, 2004 What is the difference between a Birdwatcher and a Birdwatcher II? Oh, and check out this link: http://www.hallman.org/bolger/Birdwatcher/ Quote
Frank Hagan Posted October 29, 2004 Posted October 29, 2004 I guess the Bolgerites have a Yahoo group, and they all gravitate to that. I'd be happy to set up a forum here for them, with the same friendly atmosphere that we have in the B&B Yachts Forum, but they haven't seemed interested in the past. Bolger is an interesting character though; he has some designs I love, and who can argue with the HMS Rose? Quote
Guest Posted October 29, 2004 Posted October 29, 2004 Pretty strrange thing going on for sure. I have received two inquiries concerning this boat just this week. Frank, I am not sure how you can get any information spread around about a new forum for these boats, but there surely seems to be some more than just a casual interest, that is spread about the world of boats. Quote
MisterMoon Posted October 29, 2004 Posted October 29, 2004 Moving this to off topic? That's why I don't often participate here. I'm not that interested in the Stevenson designs. If other designers are 'off-topic', then it's not really "Messing About in Boats", it's "Messing About in Stevenson Projects Boats". Getting back to subject of this post, I did post PDFs of the two recent MAIB BW articles in the files section of the "bolger4" Yahoo group for those who are interested in learning about this unique and wonderful design. I've had plans for the original boat for a couple of years which if time and tide ever get right might get built. Quote
Guest Posted October 29, 2004 Posted October 29, 2004 In several conversations, it has been stated that this board is for all boats, though I think it was a spin off. But this has really been overstated by Frank, time and again, that its not like that now, as expressed in my threads of my "dumpster rigs" this year. I can only speak for myself when I say a section devoted to Bolger actually highlights it, and fits in the nature of the B&B designs already set up now. At least thats my take on it. Backa month or so ago, a thread concerning this matter stated very clearly that the Mian section was a general talk part and was decided that even the posts on materials and tools would stay lumped together as one section. You can view this thread at this link. Mr. Moon. http://www.messing-about.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2759 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Actually, messing was never intended to be just about the Stevenson's boats. It was intended for small boats, built by amature builders, and to provide a community of sorts for people to come to as they tackle their latest project. But most of us who started out here built Stevenson's designs, so it naturally favors that. Nothing wrong with that, but everyone's welcome. But people are hesitant to chime in with something else, like their 1929 gaffer! I agree: There is a gold mine of info hidden away in posts, and "Search" doesn't always get you to them. Converting them to an article works well, but is time consuming. An index of the posts would be wonderful, but I'm not sure if I can create one easily enough to be able to keep it up (although with people nominating threads for inclusion, it might work). I could also add a "read only" forum that is a collection of great posts about certain topics. Questions about the topic would have to be addressed in the Main Forum, but it would put a copy of all the technical posts in the same place sans the chit-chat we all love when we aren't researching something specific. So, I'll have to think about this one! Hopefully I am right in my thoughts as it would highlight these boats, not a way to disconnect them. The yahoo groups, sometimes, with my experience, actually discourages participation in its format. Quote
Craig Posted October 29, 2004 Posted October 29, 2004 I was under the impression that this board was initiated to provide a place for everyone to cuss and discuss building boats. As an practicing engineer I can assure you that technology and innovation is easier to steal than create. Thus the excellent value of the varied boat designs discussed here. The Saralee; and many other Stevenson designed craft built by this board's membership, has been heavily modified by original redesign work and stuff adopted from other designers. If you look closely at the tabernacle design on the Saralee you can readily see the Bolger influence. I guess you could say many of our boats are hybrids and not pure Stevenson. I am sure that Mike and Peter don't care a whit if we mod their designs as long as we are having fun and don't created a safety issue for our passengers (pax). Over the past few years there have been some rather nasty flame wars fought over other boards being only for this or that design or this or that opinion of how things should be done, and the relative safety impact on the the pax. This board thankfully has been free of that pettiness and provides a forum for both traditional build-to-print and experimental design building. I am sure Frank will continue to maintain this as an open forum and as funds and server space permit provide space for all who are interested in membership. Mr Moon this includes you. Welcome aboard! Quote
Greg Luckett Posted October 29, 2004 Posted October 29, 2004 Same here, Craig and Oyster. What the heck is MisterMoon talking about? He is confusing me :? . Where does he get "Moving this to off topic?" : . That he does not often come to this site seems obvious based on his lack of knowledge about our discussions. I hope he will spend more time with us and really get to know the site and its members. Kind of funny how quickly he came upon the Bolger discussion we have been having for the last few days. I like the idea of a Bolger forum similar to the B&B, assuming there would be enough posting on it, otherwise I vote to just leave them in the Main Forum. I like many of those Bolger designs. MisterMoon will you share and join with us please? Quote
Guest Posted October 29, 2004 Posted October 29, 2004 Yep, I am a little perplexed by his statement. Actually I used one of his own personal boats in the thread titled "Convertible Top" the Micklak one, grey in color http://www.messing-about.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2913 But take a look at this thread, sorry to send you there, but it public viewing, at this link. He actually gave me some ideas for my sail rig on my 14 footer. http://media5.hypernet.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=003793 It would be nice if there was some clarification to the statement. Quote
MisterMoon Posted October 29, 2004 Posted October 29, 2004 I should have said, "Marked as Off topic". I misunderstood the status of this thread when I posted it. Sorry to ruffle feathers, I'm in a spittin' hornets kind of mood these days due to my professional life and it's spilling over everywhere else. Please accept my apologies. :oops: Quote
Greg Luckett Posted October 29, 2004 Posted October 29, 2004 I should have said' date=' "Marked as Off topic". I misunderstood the status of this thread when I posted it. Sorry to ruffle feathers, I'm in a spittin' hornets kind of mood these days due to my professional life and it's spilling over everywhere else. Please accept my apologies. :oops:[/quote'] I completely understand, and while i don't feel the need of an apology from you, I appreciate your doing so. I still hope you will spend more time with us. Quote
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