Charlie Jones Posted March 28, 2003 Report Share Posted March 28, 2003 I am delighted to tell you folks that the final paperwork was completed today. I'll be building a Princess 22 for Mr Travis Votaw, who visits on this board. The construction will begin in my shop in Victoria Texas, in about 2 to 2 1/2 weeks, depending on how long it takes to gather materials. I'll be posting photos of the construction as I go along. Graham and Carla- you'll get yours in seperate emails with pics as I go also, as I promised Graham. Sorry Carla, but my order for plans for the Birder 13 will just have to wait a bit (again). But I'll get there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Votaw Posted March 28, 2003 Report Share Posted March 28, 2003 Charlie, glad you posted this on the board. Needless to say, I'm pumped over the prospect of this project, and of owning the boat. As you and I have discussed, I have loved the cat ketch rig ever since I built Wm. Atkin's "Aunty Helen" 17 foot cat ketch sharpie back in the 60's. That boat was also made of marine fir plywood. I kept it for 10 years before I sold it (big mistake). The boat rested on its trailer, when not in the water, out in the weather, and never developed a speck of rot anywhere. I finally fiberglassed the deck after it began to check a little too much to suit me. None of the rest of the boat was fiberglassed, just painted. The boat was great fun to sail. Every bay in the State of Texas has seen its bottom. I appreciate the opportunity to post on this board. I've been monitoring it for some time and already feel like I know many of you. There's an old geezer somewhere in Texas having a boat Built. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tom Lathrop Posted March 28, 2003 Report Share Posted March 28, 2003 Hi Charlie, I see you found your way over here. Might as well build a Princess for you and Laura too. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Whitney CS#70 Posted March 28, 2003 Report Share Posted March 28, 2003 Charlie I will watch with interest. I am currently building a CS17 but am enjoying it so much I am thinking of a Princess at some stage. Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Hagan Posted March 28, 2003 Report Share Posted March 28, 2003 Great news! This will be one beautiful boat. I don't know if others here have seen Charlie's work, but it is top notch. He built three boats for display at the Strictly Sail boat show a couple of years ago, and they were absolutely stunning. Congratulations, Travis! I suspect this one will be a "keeper!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordy Hill Posted March 29, 2003 Report Share Posted March 29, 2003 I envy both of you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Posted March 29, 2003 Report Share Posted March 29, 2003 I'm certainly looking forward to seeing the photos of this one! A question for Travis and Charlie from a lake sailer looking for some salt water: What places along the Texas coast do you reccomend as best places for day sailing or overnight camping sailing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Jones Posted March 29, 2003 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2003 Tim- My wife and I live overlooking Matagorda Bay. Here's a link to our website- Click on the lighthouse and under it you'll find some maps of our sailing area. http://www.angelfire.com/tx4/cnl/ We sail in the Lavaca, Matagorda, Espiritu Santo, San Antonio bay complex. We cruise a 21 foot sloop with 2 foot draft, or beach cruise in our 18 foot Sharpie. You can beach camp in numerous places in the bays I just mentioned. One of our favorites is at Pass Cavallo, which is the natural inlet for Matagorda Bay to the gulf. Good fishing, pretty water, no facilities at all- also once night falls, usually no other people. No permit required. Also, at Matagorda Island State park, via Espiritu Santo Bay, there are free docks and you can stay on the boat or camp in a tent there at the headquarters. You can also arrange a ride over to the beach for extremely primitive camping - I do mean primitive. No facilities except a picnic table and shade. You need a permit, but it doesn''t cost anything I don't think. Only way to get to the two previous spots is by boat - no vehicular access. You can also stay on most any of the spoil banks that stay above water at high tide - they are all public, except there is one island down by the Port O'Conner jetties (inside) that is an Audobon Society place and landing there is verboten. You can also launch and camp on the beach at Magnollia Beach (where I live) any day of the week- no charge. There, there are restrooms, but no other facilities. Can't tell you anything about the Galveston area, nor bays further south. Too much water right around here for us to wander far If you need more info, just email me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Votaw Posted March 30, 2003 Report Share Posted March 30, 2003 There's a great Texas State Park called Goose Island State Park on Aransas Bay across from Rockport, Texas. Look on Texas State map. There are nice camping facilities there for tents, camper trailers, and some locations on the waterfront that have open shelters. Good launching ramp also for trailer boats. This is a good bay for sailing - fairly deep but also many oyster reefs. Rockport is an interesting little town for poking around in. Like Charlie said, you can camp almost anywhere on spoil islands along the ICW, and in many places around the edges of the bays. A great trip is to trailer down to Port Isabel (southern tip of Texas) and sail north up the Laguna Madre to Corpus Christi or even on to Port O'Connor on Matagorda Bay. There are ( or at least were) many spoil islands to camp on along the way. Broad reach all the way most of the time in the summer. I made this trip a long time ago in my 17'cat ketch and camped all the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailor3356 Posted April 1, 2003 Report Share Posted April 1, 2003 Wow Charlie sound like a great place to go. Liked the pictures on your web site too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Luckett Posted April 4, 2003 Report Share Posted April 4, 2003 Charlie, Got any shop pictures? Thanks, Greg/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Luckett Posted April 4, 2003 Report Share Posted April 4, 2003 Charlie, Nice web site. Thanks for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Jones Posted April 5, 2003 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2003 Have I got pictures Do you mean pictures of the shop itself, or pictures of the various boats being built? I can email some of either Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Hagan Posted April 5, 2003 Report Share Posted April 5, 2003 Hey Charlie, why not create an album here and upload your photos so we can drool on them at our leisure? The photo albums are Here, and are free to all registered users. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Luckett Posted April 5, 2003 Report Share Posted April 5, 2003 Charlie, I meant the shop, but boat pictures are always welcome. I like Frank's idea. How about doing that? Greg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Jones Posted April 5, 2003 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2003 I'll try that, but here's a couple for now. This is looking in to the rear sliding door. You can just see the edge of the Delta lathe to the right. In the foreground is the Delta dual 14 inch bandsaw. It has metal and wood capabilities. Behind that is the Unisaw and the jointer. In fornt of the table saw is a layout table, and you can just see the 12 inch band saw. Just over the big band saw is the clamp racks. [attachment over 4 years old deleted by admin] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Jones Posted April 5, 2003 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2003 Here's my work bench [attachment over 4 years old deleted by admin] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Jones Posted April 5, 2003 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2003 and here's the tools racked on the wall behind the bench. Under the top to the right is all my hand planes lined up, with power sanders on the bottom shelf. All of the routers, the plate jointer, etc are in a closed cabinet further down. The far right drawer has all the chisels, the second one in contains files and rasps, the third has measuring items- tapes, calipers, dividers, Squares, etc. The fourth drawer is the proverbial "catch all" [attachment over 4 years old deleted by admin] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Jones Posted April 5, 2003 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2003 And finally (they all say - THANK GOD!!) here's one shot of the other end, with the CLC John's Sharpie under way, with the Weekender sitting right behind it. You can just see the boat layout table in the back ground and the Mill Creek 16.5 going together beside it [attachment over 4 years old deleted by admin] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Luckett Posted April 5, 2003 Report Share Posted April 5, 2003 Okay, I am indeed envious. Nice shop! Greg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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