Plan 'B'

[UnlikelyVoyager]

As Captain Cook knew, there's always a Plan B. Thus, when the wooden boat that Helena and I had been looking for for years, turned up on eBay, we suddenly needed a Plan B.

Plan A had been to "build Cabin Boy this winter so when and if we buy a wooden boat, I'll know how to take care of it." But the right boat came along sooner than we expected, and we now owned a boat. A boat in Florida -- about 2000 nm. from home. Clearly, Plan A wasn't going to cut it.

So we came up with Plan B: to sail the new boat home from Florida in stages. Stage 1, the north west coast of Florida to the south east coast of Florida, via the Keys, commencing in 20 days.

And that means this unhandy man needs to finish Cabin Boy in 20 days...

If you're interested, check out the complete blog post: Plan B

Enjoy: John

[James S]

Congratulations on the boat.
So Cabin Boy is a dinghy you're building.
Why does it need finishing in 20days....are you going to move it the 2000nm to accompany the delivery of the boat?

[Stillraining]

Congratulations John...Hope it all goes silky smooth for you.

[marc2012]

Better do some planing,weather here can get nasty with northers thus time of yr..If any draft limited stopping places.If taking e coast icw shallow & tricky.Oh if you like going through bridges you will love Miami.marc

[Morgan Paul]

Congrats on the boat. You have a real adventure in front of you. This must be her. Nice

Blue Moon 23 sailboat for sale



Paul

[James S]

That is nice!

[marc2012]

Very pretty boat,but prejudiced have Gilmer design.Shallow enough should have no problems,congratulations,marc

[UnlikelyVoyager]

What a difference a deadline makes. I've been puzzling over a build problem for several weeks now, without success. None of my boat building books has a solution. Even Clem Kuhlig's "Building the Skiff Cabin Boy" just skips over the problem.

Here's the problem: The backbone of the skiff consists of the stem in the front, the keelson along the bottom, and the transom in the back. The stem has to go from about where my hand is in the picture below, down to the leading edge of the ladder frame. What makes this complicated is that the angle and position of the stem is very important, and I knew I'd have to fool around with it a bit to get it right.

So how could I hold the stem in place in a way that was easily adjustable, but also very strong?

Read complete blog post: Stem Invention

Enjoy: John

[UnlikelyVoyager]

On this Day 18, my goal was to work on Cabin Boy's transom. I had bought a large plank of Mahogany from Condon's. It was a beautiful piece, but since I'd brought it home to my basement workshop, it had developed a nasty crack. The sudden change in humidity combined with a hidden weakness in the board, I suspect.

Luckily, I'd been smart enough to buy a longer length than I needed...

Read complete blog post: Year of the Blue Moon

Enjoy: John

[UnlikelyVoyager]

Originally Posted by James S

Congratulations on the boat.
So Cabin Boy is a dinghy you're building.
Why does it need finishing in 20days....are you going to move it the 2000nm to accompany the delivery of the boat?

That's the plan! I need a dingy anyway, and there's nothing like a deadline to focus the mind...

[UnlikelyVoyager]

Originally Posted by marc2012

Very pretty boat,but prejudiced have Gilmer design.Shallow enough should have no problems,congratulations,marc

She's going to be gorgeous when I repaint her. But that's a future blog post

[UnlikelyVoyager]

Well, on this Day 17, my mission was to mount Cabin Boy's transom, using the micro invention described yesterday, and to tie the whole backbone together, as much as possible.

I started by bolting the keelson to the stem. To do that, I had to drill a long 1/4" hole through the keelson and the stem, and then chisel out a 'landing area' on the stem for the washer and nut.

For some reason, I still find it difficult to drill or cut 'real wood'... i.e., the wood that will end up in the actual boat. There is something so final about drilling a hole, or -- worse -- making a saw cut...

Read complete blog post: Oak Smoke

Enjoy: John

[ggray]

Gosh, unless you came up with Plan B a couple of months ago and have nothing more to resolve concerning the mother ship, I'd go to Plan C. That being to beg, borrow or ebay a cheap dinghy for now, and do the building later. You would enjoy it more.

I wouldn't want to be distracted from the journey, especially this time of year. But prehaps you have all issues settled.

[UnlikelyVoyager]

Originally Posted by ggray

Gosh, unless you came up with Plan B a couple of months ago and have nothing more to resolve concerning the mother ship, I'd go to Plan C. That being to beg, borrow or ebay a cheap dinghy for now, and do the building later. You would enjoy it more.

I wouldn't want to be distracted from the journey, especially this time of year. But prehaps you have all issues settled.

I found it surprisingly difficult to come up with a cheap dingy on short notice. Try to find one on ebay or craigslist, in your area.

However, the main reason I'm trying to finish Cabin Boy is nothing more practical than I think it would be great to have him on the voyage. I'll buy a cheap dingy if I have to, but if I can finish Cabin Boy on time, that would be great.

Meanwhile, I'm gathering gear and supplies for the trip down to FL. My checklist is a mile long, but I'm working it down.

On top of that, I need to clear the decks at work, so I can take a month off, without too many issues needing my attention while I'm sailing.

Good thing there are 36 hours in a day, because I'm using them all.

[smallyachts]

Congratulations on your new boat, she has nice lines.

Having purchased several boats out of my area (Tampa) and then sailing them here for local restoration, I have learned that without fail (knock on wood) I have always been able to come up with a cheap hard tender somewhere close to where the boat was purchased.

You could call the boatyards and or marinas near where the boat is now and ask if they know of any to start with. Let them know that it does not have to be anything but watertight. You can generally find one that is not listed anywhere, usually a friend of a friend type deal.

It may not be a beauty queen, in fact it will probably look like crap. But then again, you are less likely to have it grow legs on the trip, the uglier they are, the less desirable they are to steal. (When I purchase an outboard for a dink, the first thing I do is take the cowling off and gently beat it into ugliness, I have on one occassion had a locked, nice shiny newer outboard stolen from right next to one of my beat up dinks with the scratched up outboard on it, with only a painter attached to the dock.)

Although each time I have packed the inflatable, I have never had to rely on it as a hard dink always shows up cheap.

Enjoy your trip.