Cabin Boy Launch!

In fact, Cabin Boy was not 100% complete. I didn't have time to seize on the rope rub rail and, more important, Ididn't have time to varnish the interior oak, and mahogany transom.

I could live for awhile without a rub rail, but I didn't want to launch Cabin Boy without some sort of protection for the unpainted wood. Luckily, I'd read about Linseed Oil in a recent edition of Wooden Boat, and thought that would be a good enough substitute for varnish.

So I mixed up a brew of Linseed Oil and Turpentine, and had my son Chris lather it on until the wood didn't absorb any more.

Then it was time to head off to Huntington Harbor for the big test.

I should mention that Huntington Harbor is the ideal place to test an Atkin boat, since William Atkin opened his first boat shop in Huntington, pretty close to where I intended to launch Cabin Boy.

So, on a beautiful spring day, we carried him down to the beach. Poised on the water's edge, he looked ready to head out to sea.

Of course, no launch is complete without a beautiful woman and a bottle of Champagne, or, perhaps more appropriately, in our case, a bottle of Blue Moon.

Success! No leaks, and Cabin Boy rowed beautifully, even burdened down in the stern. Later on, I rowed the boat alone, and the transom perked out of the water, and he rowed even better. Unfortunately, I'd lost my photographer by then, so no pictures!

So Cabin Boy's first outing was a complete success, and he's now nodding sleepily on his painter a few feet off from the Blue Moon, ready to start his Big Adventure.

And so am I!

John

More pictures are at:

https://www.unlikelyboatbuilder.com/2010/04/cabin-boy-launch.html

PDR 381

I went for a sail today! It was great to be on the water after this long winter!!!!!! But it was the first time I got #381 in the water. I am a self taught sailer and I am NOT a very good teacher. I learned some stuff today. I will be counting my pennies and putting in an order soon. I learned not to fudge on hardware, it ain’t worth it. I learned if it ain’t right at the dock it sure wont get any better out on the water!! I learned no matter how bad you want or need to sail into the wind it just ain’t going to happen!! My rudder was not mounted up right so it kind of laid over at an angle (not good). I did get some fast runs, enough to make the leeboard hum, then the clamp that held the leeboard in place broke and broke BIG. (I had it rigged so I could move it fore and aft as needed to figure out the trim for the sail.) The only thing to do was drop all sail pull up rudder and paddle 1/2 mile into the wind to get back to the dock. I still had fun though. I want to make the TX200 so bad I can taste it. I hope I ain’t one of the greenhorns that need to be rescued all the time if I do get to come down. P.S. I am building # 405 as we speak!!! Love your site. I am on it 2 or 3 times every day.

Gene Berry

Elegant Punt

My EP finally hit the water yesterday. It rowed really well with the thole pins, but I need to fashion some collars for the oars. Not much of a breeze, but I did get to sail it downwind a bit.

She's named "Anna Jane" after my grandmother and I sailed her for the first time on Springfield Lake, here in Springfield, Missouri. The boat was my first real experience in wood working, but won't be my last.

Trevor Akin
Springfield, MO

Ella

Norman Fuller launches his Ella plywood skiff built to free plans – and it’s a success! Gavin Atkin

"Hi Gavin, after a slow start I finally got under way, having not been on the water for many many years.

Once I sorted the collars on the oars, worked out where they needed to fit and then nailed them in place, the Ella skiff performed very well. As you see I left the forward hatch open because thats where I kept the nails and hammer.

The boat’s very easy to handle and I think the skeg was doing it’s job, as I found I could row in a straight line, which could be some sort of indication the bottom is not skidding.

Only one was a little bit awkward, and that is the angle of the rowlock’s. I set them in the gapped inwale following the line of the side of the boat, but they need to be more upright, so I think I will change them. My friend Jenny was so proud of what I had done she took me for a carvery, not bad eh?

Till next time!".

Norman

Plans are at Gavin Atkin's site https://intheboatshed.net/?s=ella

Laguna Tres

I got my son-in-law to help me launch and retrieve L3 at a little local lake today. My trailer was a tad short so I had to load it bow to the rear to get the weight right - at that it was so far forward that I could not open the tailgate on my Xterra. No problem, we dumped her in the water and she sailed away so gracefully. We did not have a lot of wind - I'd guess as much as 10 in gusts but the boat sailed solid 90° tacks! My Rube Goldburg tiller system had a fixable problem but caused me to be ginger with it and I discovered how well the boat steers with the two sheets. Harden the aft sheet and slack the forward one and she heads up - reverse that and she falls off.

The red headed kid is our grandson, Keaton. He and his mom got to sail with us a bit. The sails are dacron - yup, the real deal.

Still in the shop - those are seat tops waiting to be installed. The plans show one seat across each cockpit, but I wanted the benches.

I also added a bulkhead at 12.5 which is not on the plans. That gives me another watertight area in the center of the boat.

My grandsons giving their opinion of Grandpa's new boat.

Launching her backwards

Like a bird she flies

They always look bigger in the shop than they do in the water.

Sailing back to the ramp "wing and wing", she looks odd from this angle.

The interior and topsides are not painted yet. That is Sandra's department. Once that is done, we are ready for the Texas200 where we expect 5 Laguna's this year.

I made the yard and boom a little oversize for two reasons: I wanted extra flotation in case of a knock-down, and I thought the other Laguna's I saw had too much flexibility in the spars so that the sails flattened too soon in a breeze. These seemed nicely stiff.

I love this boat!

Chuck

Proa

Here are a some pictures of the first steps of my yacht!
Finally, it is in the water - it swims ---- --- it does not look bad, I think.
There are small problems with it yet but that is not worth mentioning.

Willi

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