still mulling the concept

I’m thinking of having an optional trimaran set-up, so I can sail my new boat without fear of dumping it. The idea is to have the trimaran part in manageable pieces that can stow inside the cockpit, and be assembled at the beach or dock. When I want to only paddle—I mean pedal—it (Mirage Drive, remember?), I’ll leave all the extra bits behind. The leeboard could be detachable.

The akas (cross arms) would be pipes that slide into sleeves built into the boat just above the sheer line.

(Like those colours, eh? ;-)

The sail is small and not strictly a junk or a lug sail; I think of it as a battened lug rig. I want to keep it simple, and really easy to reef. Loosen the halyard, tie the batten to the boom, re-tighten the halyard, and it’s done. No lazyjacks, no snotters, no parrels. The sail shape is from the “Paulsboat” that I was going to build at first, the 15’ sailing canoe that was based on this hull design but which I think is too big for me. (This boat is 13’.) I used the same sail plan as the Paulsboat but scaled it down for this boat: the Paulsboat sail is 42 square feet; this one is 25½—considerably smaller.

The amas or outrigger hulls are yet to be thought through. Could be a piece of pipe, but a simple vee-shaped pea pod strikes my fancy. Probably best vee-bottomed rather than flat-bottomed, so they don’t slap against waves... Hobie has an interesting suggestion...

Oh—P.S: I bought the plans for the "Rio Grande", to see how Jim says how to do it, so I don't screw up it. They may take their time getting to me by mail because of the time of year.

P.P.S: Forgot to say that I had a great email conversation with Chuck Leinweber, the main man at Duckworks Boatbuilder's Supply, who had built the two Rio Grande boats featured in the article about the design, one in plywood and the other in foam and glass/resin, the latter of which he said was a much lighter boat. He says I should build with 3/8" thick foam for the hull, and 1/4" foam for the decks, and says: "If you are going to use foam, but want standard durability, use light glass on the inside and both sides of the decks. By “Light” I mean 4 oz or less. I’d use 6 oz on the bottom."

The Next Boat

I've been considering what form my next boat will take. (I think it's understood I'm addicted to the idea of boats, for which there is no 12-step program—that I know of... or want to know of.)
 
Here's what I want in a boat:

• as light as can be, yet strong
• capacity to carry enough camping gear for a few days out
• easy to propel without a motor
• small but not as constraining as a kayak
• capable of sailing

There exists a variety of different foam sheets that people use to build things with, especially boats. Apparently, Core-Cell is best. What I've been able to find around here so far is Divinycell, a cross-linked polyvinyl foam core. With fibreglass on each side of the sheet it becomes very strong. So that's what I'll do.

For propulsion, I want to install a Hobie Mirage Drive:


So after looking around in the plans available at Duckworks, I purchased plans for Jim Michalak's Toto, a 13' x 30" boat that looks like a kayak with a large cockpit:

Well, this is my version of it. I didn't realize it but there's a plan available for this boat that actually has a deck. My Toto plans are for a mostly-open boat with an afterdeck. The Rio Grande is the same boat but with decks like this drawing. It's not difficult to design a proper deck, so I will just add decks to the design I have.

John Booth says I can build the boat at his shop—yay!

Next step is to source the foam.

Firefly sold

In buying, fixing up and sailing Firefly, originally Spindrift, I learned a heck of a lot; about myself and about sailing out of Victoria, B.C.

About myself, I learned that, although I have chronic back pain, I can still do things, as long as I pay attention, don't lift more than I know I can handle (not much), and take breaks as necessary, not allowing schedules to dictate actions. This was pretty major for me: I had thought that the rest of my life would be drawing, building and owning models of boats, not real-life boats.

About sailing out of Victoria, I found out why there aren't many people here who day-sail for pleasure:

1. The currents from the tidal exchange are a force to be reckoned with. Big boat, okay; small boat, not so much. 
2. It seems there's either too much or too little wind here. Gentle winds often are accompanied by rain.
3. Compared to Oak Bay, there's nowhere interesting to sail to of an afternoon. The wind and the tide both come in from the west in the afternoon, so you go westward first, towards Albert Head. Then you turn around and run back with wind and tide taking you home. After awhile it becomes repetitive. 
4. Cruise ships. 
5. On my boat, I couldn't get in and out of the marina without firing up the engine, which was noisy, stinky, and vibrated the rudder fittings, making a chatter I did not enjoy and could not get rid of. A 4-cycle motor may have been better, and possibly a different pintle/gudgeon setup might have eased that.
6. For longer trips, Victoria is too far away from the good cruising grounds in the Gulf Islands and beyond. It takes a couple days to get there.

And I learned a great deal about Victoria harbour, something that can only come with experience. As well, my experience with Hidden Harbour marina was excellent. Jim Witter is a fair and respectful manager.

So...

One old-timer said there are only two kinds of boats one should consider: Either you can live on it, or you can carry it.

My plan now is to build a very light boat that can live on top of my car. See my next post.