First Launch of the Carol Leigh

[Bill Jones]

Hi all,

Just wanted to post a note about the launch of my new Bolger Chebacco, the Carol Leigh. Hopefully I'm working the image commands right...in any case, many more photos and building info can be found at www.people.vcu.edu/~wmjones

Bill

[tdrown]

Wow, looks great! And the design is named after the Massachusetts lake where I first launched my Weekender!

The trailer modification looks like it works great.

What's the cabin like and how much does she draw?

[Frank Hagan]

Very nice looking boat! Looks like you did a fine job on her (I'm always partial to a white hull with brightwork). That is one of my favorite Bolger designs, and I've heard she is very well behaved and fun to sail.

I like your site as well, wiith the construction diary, costs, and suppliers you used. I'm compiling boat building wood suppliers, and saw Siewer's Lumber in your log ... I'll add them to our list here as I don't have anyone listed in VA. I assume they were good to work with since you went back a couple of times!

Do you think building the Mini Cup first helped you with tackling the Chebacco? Its a pretty big project, and I'm often asked if starting with a smaller design to get the feel for building was the right way to go.

[Barry Pyeatt]

Yes indeed Bill, a very nicely finished project. I think you will have a lot of fun and derive much enjoyment from your boat.

Please give us a follow up and let us know about how she handles for you and if your expectations have been met. I know others that have the same boat and they have somewhat mixed feelings about them but they all think that it met their expectations for them.

I to am partial to your combination of brightwork and paint. Very nice!

[Bill Paxton]

Well, I'm jealous. That's a boat I've long admired, and you did an outstanding job. Congratulations!

[Bill Jones]

Thankyou everyone for the kind comments. I'll try to respond to the questions:

tdrown: I'm 6'2", and the cabin has sitting head room, but just barely. There is a lot of sprawling room though - two people could sleep comfortably with about 6'6" of length fore and aft, and the sloping hull sides are nice to lean against. I did not do a lot to finish the inside other than to leave the carlins and rafters bright as it will be used primarily as a day sailer (and I wanted to hurry up and get on the water!). She is quite light for her size and draws less than a foot with the board up, about 3 feet with the board down.

Frank: Siewer's is pretty good to work with - everything was high quality and in stock, and prices were in line with local supply. They didn't take too much of an interest in what I was doing with the wood, but they are usually pretty busy. Anyway, I'd recommend them.

Building the mini-cup was pretty much vital to my success, I think. The Stevenson's provide extremely well detailed building instructions that eased me into the building process, and the mini-cup experience gave me a real idea of what I would be getting into with a larger project. One of the major hurdles with the Chebacco is the lack of detailed written building instructions - earlier builders provided a couple of pages to outline the general process, and there is a fair amount of information on the web, but with out having built something else first I don't know if I would have gotten done - it would certainly been more stressful without previous experience! Adding to the common body of knowledge for Chebacco construction was one of the primary motivations for the web site.

Barry: I've had her out three times so far, but the wind has been light and variable each time so I have not had a chance to see how she handles when things kick up. So far though my expectations have been met - the Chebacco is an unballasted daysailor and seems to perform that task quite well.

Bill