In the time since my last post I have been busily working away on the boat, and have let the blogging slide. I wanted to be in the water in time for the annual Lake Pepin Messabout, and I'm happy to say I made it!
I expect to go back and fill in the gaps in the story as I have time, but this post is about the (almost completely) finished product. Here we are on the refurbished trailer ready to head to the local boat ramp.
And here she first takes to the water.
I have a willing helper to try the boat out for the first time.
And the little porthole is fun to peek through.
I had a minor panic just off the ramp when I went to let the centerboard down and nothing happened! I popped the cover off the centerboard case and forced the board down, and then saw floating in the case a roll of masking tape that had gone missing. It had fallen into the centerboard case and jammed up the board.
Panic over, we enjoyed the gentle wind for the first evening sail as we sailed about for a couple hours. It was especially fun to put the tiller over and spin about in about our own length.
The folowing day was the annual messabout and here's a shot of some of the boats on the beach. I sailed most of the day, covering about 18 miles with various passengers. The winds were brisk with whitecaps and significant waves, and I had two reefs in the entire day.
There was a lot of messing about in the same general area, chasing and sailing with other boats. It was a good time, but I have to admit I was pretty bushed by the end of the day!
Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Bob!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jeff!
DeleteDave, wow your day has come. Must of been awesome to see it actually float off the trailer. I can't wait...I'm about 2 weeks from completion.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on a very well thought out and completed build. One you can be proud of for many years. I really admire your boat. I hope I get to meet you and see your boat in person some time. Hats off to you.
Brent
Thanks, Brent! Good luck to you as you get closer to launch. I gotta say, though, I was about 2 weeks from completion for about 4 months... Seemed like, anyway!
DeleteCongratulations! How did she sail in those brisky winds?
ReplyDeleteHi Rik - She seemed to sail fine - never felt in any danger of going over, so I was pleased about that. I was pretty much holding the sheet while inexperienced passengers steered, and by reviewing the GPS track I see we were mostly going back and forth across the wind, though I think we could have made better headway if we were paying more attention. - Dave
DeleteCongrats, Dave! She's a fine looking vessel, well done! Many happy days ahead,
ReplyDeletefair winds,
Dale
Congratulations!! That's a lovely boat, well done!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Julie. Are you still working on your SCAMP? I keep an eye on your blog at http://www.buildingasailboat.com/, but haven't seen any updates lately.
DeleteI was lucky enough to buy this boat early this year. You built a solid and lovely boat, John. I keep it sheltered in a storage unit and trailer it to lakes in Alabama and Georgia, and soon to camp cruise along the coast - Tybee, Hilton Head, St. Catherine's, St. Simon's, etc. The detailed work is much appreciated -- for example the storage locker lid design, and the little shelves. Seeing the excellent build documented gives me a confident feeling this boat will last decades.
ReplyDelete