I figure if I announce it, I will be committed and force myself to finish it.

What I am building

This boat project will be a small sailboat. It is about the size of a sunfish but will not have that much in common other than the size. It is going to be either a rowboat that will also sail or a sailboat that will row decently. After extensive research, I decided to build rather than buy. Well, it really wasn't that extensive. I looked around and what I found was either too expensive or too big. My selection criteria consisted of:

• I have a small car. I want something that I can either toss on top of it or tow with a very small trailer.
• I don't want to mess with engines or trolling motor.
• I want shallow draft that I can go into most areas of the Laguna Madre without worry.
• I don't want something that will be a wet ride like a sunfish or a small catamaran.
• Light and easy to load or run up on the beach.

I really liked the Blackfly plans (no link, the author is taking the site down for some reason) I found on the internet but didn't really want to build lapstrake. I am building it stitch and glue.

I almost bought this Wineglass Wherry kit which is really similar but I really wanted to build it myself from scratch. Ok, I admit it. I am cheap. I figure if I really like doing it, I invest in better materials. Instead of this kit, I got Suzuki to drive me to McCoys and bought 6 sheets of 1/4 in luan and 2 sheets of 1/2 in luan. ($113 so far) I also picked up a bottle of Gorilla Glue and a sheetrock t-square for transferring the control points to the plywood. I will use the Gorilla glue for piecing the strakes mainly because I want to get it sewn up before I decide to invest in ordering a bulk quantity of epoxy and glass. If it comes out really bad I figure I can always revert to plan B and buy myself a small boat.

The main deviation I am making from the general plan of the Wherry is that I am going to incorporate 4 buoyancy chambers since my entire sailing experience consists of 2 days sailing lessons on a much different boat. I expect to get wet occasionally while learning. There will be one in the bow, one in the stern and one small one on each side of the daggerboard to make a rowing seat. I might actually calculate the buoyancy but I am just making a rough estimate at this point.

The basic plan I am working from is one I developed with the Hulls Program
The basic lines look like this:

It is probably overkill but I plan on adding a smallish skeg so I can do without the daggerboard for shallower water.

The sailplan will be pretty simple. I am waffling between a lateen,  lug, or possibly a gunter rig. Main reason for these choices is to be able to stow the mast inside the boat for transport. If I get things going like I want, I might also see about adding a small bowsprit and adding a jib to the mix just for fun. I will have to see how things work out. There will not be that much room and I am going to play that by ear as I go. I am shooting for about 80-100 sq. ft. of sail The rigging will be a bit lower than on a sloop rig so I can probably get away with a bit more sail. This might be too much but if I go that far, I will probably plan on a couple reefs as well. I do want to be able to have some fun with it.

Status

16 May 2007

Finally started laying out the design onto plywood. Transferred all the control points on the first sheet and played connect the dots. I used a fiberglass flagpole off my mother's tricycle as a batten to fair the lines. Worked pretty well. (at least I think so, I have not fitted anything together yet.)

My main dilemma right now:

• Decide if I will try to clamp two sheets together to cut both sides out at the same time. Not to save time but to ensure both sides are somewhat symmetrical.
  
• Will I cut them out with jigsaw or rotozip? I keep having hope that I can get the rotozip to work well for something but so far, it has been a real disappointment.
  

My main target is to get the basic hull sewn up by the end of this weekend. Ahh, the best laid plans of mice and men.