Weekender, advice, etc.
moose
Eric Kuehne wrote:
> - I would like something with a small cabin (big enough to sleep 2 for
> a night)
The weekender will sleep two, but tight. I used to go sailing with a
friend and I'd let her take the helm and I'd crawl into the cabin and
watch her sail while laying down. It has plenty of room (I'm 6'1" tall)
and is a neat sensation laying down have the boat heeling. A bit
unnerving at first. :)
> - Easy to build for a novice, without many specialized tools
Yup, this was one of the easiest boats I've built. Be prepared to spend
some time on it though, it's a good sized project. I had never used a
circular saw before starting this project, honest.
> - Cheap (cost of materials around $2000)
This shouldn't be a problem.
> - Trailerable
Piece of cake. Weighs about 500-600 pounds depending on how many
goodies you go with. I tow it behind my Jeep Wrangler without a hiccup.
> - The plan is to eventually sell the boat and build a larger one, so
> resale value is important.
This one is hard to say. It depends on the construction quality,
options, etc. etc. It's worth what someone is willing to pay. I'm
considering selling mine soon. I'm only asking $600, but that's without
trailer. I've already got 3 boats, and I'm considering starting a
fourth. I need to get rid of some of my toys. :(
> With the above in mind I have been looking at the Weekender ( A
> Stevenson Project boat ). Has anyone had experience building and/or
> sailing one of these? How do they perform? What kind of resale value
> do they have?
I have a little write-up on mine. Here's the link:
http://www.overland.net/~moose/page12.html
Make sure to checkout the "My Weekender Photos" area. Lot's of buildup
photos as well as completed photos.
> Thank you very much for any advice you may offer.
Fire any questions you have my way. I'd be happy to help.
Later,
Steve
Migchelsen
homepage. These hulls are designed to mathematal scale. Multiply measurements
12 ft skiff by two and you have you weekender 24 ft.
Factor 1-1/2 give you a 18 ft hull. Sheers and chines. Barend
Myles J. Swift
Two things to consider. First if you have no experience you should find out
if cruising, rather than daysailing, weekending, or camp cruising is really
what you want.
Second, if you are sure and you have picked out what big boat you want to
build, find a small one which uses the same construction methods.
Many people that like to be on the water a lot idealize a bigger boat but
then don't use it much. They always have to have people who want to crew and
it is hard to get crew together on short notice (i.e., you are ahead of
schedule at work, the wind is up, etc)
Myles
Eric Kuehne wrote in message <38BA0D8C...@cs.utah.edu>...
I have long been considering building a cruising sailboat, but seeing as
I have no experience in such matters I have decided that building a small
inexpensive day sailer or pocket yacht first is a good idea. Does anyone
have advice on what plans to use? I have a few criterian in mind:
- I would like something with a small cabin (big enough to sleep 2 for a
night)
- Easy to build for a novice, without many specialized tools
- Cheap (cost of materials around $2000)
- Trailerable
- The plan is to eventually sell the boat and build a larger one, so
resale value is important.
With the above in mind I have been looking at the Weekender ( A
Stevenson Project boat ). Has anyone had experience building and/or sailing
one of these? How do they perform? What kind of resale value do they have?
Thank you very much for any advice you may offer.
Cheers,
Eric
moose
Bruce Fountain wrote:
> home built boat is iffy at best - think how much work Moose put into
> his $600 boat!).
Much more than $600 worth of labor. Definitely a labor of love. :)
Bruce Fountain
>
> I have long been considering building a cruising sailboat, but seeing as I
> have no experience in such matters I have decided that building a small
> inexpensive day sailer or pocket yacht first is a good idea. Does anyone have
> advice on what plans to use? I have a few criterian in mind:
>
> - I would like something with a small cabin (big enough to sleep 2 for a
> night)
> - Easy to build for a novice, without many specialized tools
> - Cheap (cost of materials around $2000)
> - Trailerable
> - The plan is to eventually sell the boat and build a larger one, so resale
> value is important.
>
> With the above in mind I have been looking at the Weekender ( A Stevenson
> Project boat ). Has anyone had experience building and/or sailing one of
> these? How do they perform? What kind of resale value do they have?
You might also want to consider the Nancy's China
(http://devlinboat.com/dcnancyschina.htm). Similar proportions to the
Weekender, but has 285lb of ballast (the most common criticism of the
Weekender is that it is unballasted).
She is a pretty little thing, and if you are hoping to get a decent
resale price then this would be a good bet (but of course, selling a
home built boat is iffy at best - think how much work Moose put into
his $600 boat!).
Bruce Fountain (brucef @ eudoramail . com)
Migchelsen
fun of creating something yourself, see my earlier messages. Barend
Migchelsen
ft, or 1'=2' for 24 ft. You can do it for $1000 the most. Barend
FThoma
>I have no experience in such matters I have decided that building a small
>inexpensive day sailer or pocket yacht first is a good idea.
My all time favorite trailer sailor is the
Hartley TS16. Plans from Clark Craft.
Some links to check it out:
http://www.home.aone.net.au/rfy/nswts16.htm
http://ultra.ultra.net.au/~clive/sail.i.htm
http://members.aol.com/buildboats/
Bruce Fountain
>
> My all time favorite trailer sailor is the
> Hartley TS16. Plans from Clark Craft.
>
I was going to suggest the TS16 myself, but I don't know
that it really gives you anything that the Weekender doesn't.
I thought too that it probably uses conventional plywood
construction, rather than stitch-and-glue, so it would be
a bit trickier for a first timer.
Also, the chances of recovering your money when you go
to sell a TS16 are slim. A$3000 (about US$2000) will buy you
a good second hand boat here in Sydney, Australia (that's
with a trailor and an outboard!). A Weekender or Nancy's
China has (in my opinion) more character and is probably more
likely to capture people's attention.
Eric Kuehne
"Myles J. Swift" wrote:
> I built a Bolger Micro which would be a good fit for your requirements.
>
> Two things to consider. First if you have no experience you should find out
> if cruising, rather than daysailing, weekending, or camp cruising is really
> what you want.
>
> Second, if you are sure and you have picked out what big boat you want to
> build, find a small one which uses the same construction methods.
>
> Many people that like to be on the water a lot idealize a bigger boat but
> then don't use it much. They always have to have people who want to crew and
> it is hard to get crew together on short notice (i.e., you are ahead of
> schedule at work, the wind is up, etc)
>
> Myles
>
Myles-
Points taken. The main reason I want to start relatively small is to make sure
that undertaking a big(er) project is something I would enjoy, or even something
that would be necessary.
Eric
Eric Kuehne
Do you have experience with a Nancy's China? I checked out what I could
find on the web and it looks appealing, although I haven't been able to
find much in the way of technical details about the design (such as
estimated cost, construction method [from what you said below I gather
it's stich and glue], etc.).
The people at Stevenson Design say they like the lack of ballast in the
Weekender. What are the trade-offs to having a boat with ballast vs.
without?
Thanks again,
Eric "which boat to build" Kuehne
Frank Hagan
>Eric Kuehne wrote:
>> With the above in mind I have been looking at the Weekender ( A
>> Stevenson Project boat ). Has anyone had experience building and/or
>> sailing one of these? How do they perform? What kind of resale value
>> do they have?
I'm building one now, and there's a pretty active BBS on the web full
of builders in various stages of building. Check out
http://www.webcdi.com/cgi-bin/byyb_bbs.pl and ask away there!
I doubt that resale value on a home built boat of this size is going
to be high. If you spend $2000 to $2200 building it (a fair amount,
all things considered) I don't think you'd recoup that when you sell
it. There was one guy who logged onto the BBS and said he had bought
one for $300 (it was rotted out though; no glass and it sat in the
weather for a few years.)
Frank Hagan
wrote:
>Points taken. The main reason I want to start relatively small is to make sure
>that undertaking a big(er) project is something I would enjoy, or even something
>that would be necessary.
Hi Eric. If you haven't already, check out the various websites of
the builders, and the Weekender BBS at
http://www.webcdi.com/cgi-bin/byyb_bbs.pl
You can find a list of links to Weekender builder's sites at my page
on it, http://www.vcnet.com/~fhagan/weekender.htm (click on
"Weekender Links"
One of the reasons I choose the Weekender as my first boat project is
that it has great lines (more like a Friendship Sloop) and a good
support network of builders who are pretty nice -- always willing to
give advice (or solace, as the case may be!)
Bruce Fountain
>
> Bruce-
>
> Do you have experience with a Nancy's China? I checked out what I could
> find on the web and it looks appealing, although I haven't been able to
> find much in the way of technical details about the design (such as
> estimated cost, construction method [from what you said below I gather
> it's stich and glue], etc.).
Stitch and glue. Some photos at http://www.devlinboat.com/homebuiltoskari.htm
- Oskari estimates that it took him 500hrs and about $4500 (US$ I assume).
Mind you, I have never seen one in the flesh. I don't know of any that
have been built in Australia.
> The people at Stevenson Design say they like the lack of ballast in the
> Weekender. What are the trade-offs to having a boat with ballast vs.
> without?
I guess it depends what you are looking for. The Weekender looks like
a little yacht, but really it is a dinghy with a cabin. A good solid
gust could knock it right over, and it wouldn't be coming up again in
a hurry.
On the other hand, she is very light, easy to launch and trailer. You
don't need to build in as much bouyancy to offset the ballast. She
would be a lot of fun in protected waters - rivers, harbours, lakes.
I considered the Weekender for a while, but I want to make short hops
along the coast and this is definitely not a coastal cruiser.
moose
Eric Kuehne wrote:
> The people at Stevenson Design say they like the lack of ballast in the
> Weekender. What are the trade-offs to having a boat with ballast vs.
> without?
One that comes to mind is speed. The NC used 250 lb. ballast. I've
heard that the boat is extremely stable, just not quick. It's all
trade-offs.
FWIW, I've never been close to a capsize in my boat. I always have the
mainsheet in my hand when sailing her however. I have been close to a
broach, but never capsizing her. You do need to be on your toes, she's
not the most forgiving boat. If you are looking for a safe, forgiving
boat then you might want to look at something other than the Weekender.
Everyone that I've taken sailing with my in my weekender has been
surprised by her speed. She is a lot faster that I thought she would
be, and a lot faster than she looks.
Frank Hagan
>FWIW, I've never been close to a capsize in my boat. I always have the
>mainsheet in my hand when sailing her however. I have been close to a
>broach, but never capsizing her. You do need to be on your toes, she's
>not the most forgiving boat. If you are looking for a safe, forgiving
>boat then you might want to look at something other than the Weekender.
You also have a higher center of effort don't you? I think your
Weekender has a marconi rig, doesn't it? That might explain the
difference in what you're describing and what I've heard from others.
The "standard" Weekender is a flat bottom dory type hull with a gaff
rig, and most people think its pretty stable. Some builders add a top
sail or oversize the sails to get more speed.
>Everyone that I've taken sailing with my in my weekender has been
>surprised by her speed. She is a lot faster that I thought she would
>be, and a lot faster than she looks.
I'm not expecting mine, with the "standard" gaff rig to be as fast as
yours, though. I'm not there yet, but from what I've heard, the gaff
rig does a bit better on reaches, but if you use a marconi rig, its
easy to "oversize" it without realizing it. Didn't you have a comment
on that at one time? That a marconi rig has some percentage greater
"ooomph" for the same square footage of sail area?
Clif Thompson
One of the better pocket cruisers I have seen completed is the Vagabond +
20. For an excellent review of the process check out Justin Pipkorn's web
site at:
http://pages.prodigy.net/jpipkorn/
Good luck,
Clifton Thompson
Frank Hagan
<bru...@eudoramail.com.NOSPAM> wrote:
>I guess it depends what you are looking for. The Weekender looks like
>a little yacht, but really it is a dinghy with a cabin. A good solid
>gust could knock it right over, and it wouldn't be coming up again in
>a hurry.
Its more stable than that, at least from reports from owners. One of
the builders I'm familiar with said they did capsize her, but they
were really pushing it in some strong winds. Its a fairly beamy
little hard chined boat and most of the sailors taking it out say its
stable (but not really fast.) The guy who did capsize her was able to
stand on the keel and right her pretty easily (it helped that the mast
broke away at the hinge, so he wasn't trying to lift the sails out of
the water.) That's the only capsize we've heard of. We want to hear
from anyone else who has capsized one, but so far, we have only the
one report.
>On the other hand, she is very light, easy to launch and trailer. You
>don't need to build in as much bouyancy to offset the ballast. She
>would be a lot of fun in protected waters - rivers, harbours, lakes.
>I considered the Weekender for a while, but I want to make short hops
>along the coast and this is definitely not a coastal cruiser.
I agree with you here. When I was looking for a boat to build, I fell
in love with the lines of the Weekender, but had to resign myself to
harbors and lakes (I live near Channel Islands Harbor in California,
and would love to sail out to the Channel Islands . . . but not in a
Weekender.)
I personally wouldn't take anything under 22' or so out there, but I
see people with fairly small boats along the coast.
moose
Frank Hagan wrote:
> easy to "oversize" it without realizing it. Didn't you have a comment
> on that at one time? That a marconi rig has some percentage greater
> "ooomph" for the same square footage of sail area?
That's correct. I needed to downsize the sail area by %15 when
switching over to a marconi rig. I didn't, and she has the same amount
of sail area as a gaff rig version. She is overpowered, but not
dangerously so.
Frank Hagan
>That's correct. I needed to downsize the sail area by %15 when
>switching over to a marconi rig. I didn't, and she has the same amount
>of sail area as a gaff rig version. She is overpowered, but not
>dangerously so.
>
>Later,
>Steve
>
>--
>http://www.overland.net/~moose
That might be close to what a topsail would give you (I've seen a
couple of the gaff rigs with topsails in pictures.)
BTW - great job on Squirt. Have you gotten her out yourself yet?
sailor
Stevenson Pocket Yachts. Contrary to what a few have posted
here, the Weekender is a very stable boat. It can be driven
right up on a beach, has no ballast or centerboard to interfere
with the beach. True, in gusty winds, mainsheet control is of
utmost importance.
We have approximately 60 owners and builders posting to our BBS
with tips and topics pertaining to building these fine little
yachts. I know of no other "home built" boat that offers this
type of knowledge base to the individual builder. The micro and
nancy's china are fine boats, but there is not nearly the support
available to the first time builder.
* Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet's Discussion Network *
The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet - Free!