04-17-2009, 09:21 PM
Wow... what a fun day! April 4th the Weekender project that took me over 3 years of sporadic weekends to complete, finally slid off the trailer and into lake San Antonio for the first time. This being my first boat project...I was more than a little nervous to see if it would actually float right side up and not roll over, like my brother said it would because of no weighted keel. Well my brother was wrong! It floated so proud in the water. Not one leak or builder flaw to be concerned about!Â
I was relieved actually that there was absolutely no wind for the first half of the day, so that I could get familiar with how to work the sails and not be concerned about getting blown all over the rocky shores. Yep that's right, I have not sailed before so I had to get comfortable with what I have been studying in books about sailing. One of the people that came to watch the launch said that when the wind comes up and fills the sails it will be intuitive as to how to handle the boat....he was right!! At about 4:30pm a gentle breeze picked up and that Gaffed Main filled with wind and "Lily Bean" promply responded by gracefully moving over the water with effortless pace. The tug on the main sheet line and the instant responsiveness of the tiller in my hand gave me goose bumps...I was not prepared for how proud, and energized I felt as the boat moved over the water at such speed. I love the sound of the water hitting the hull as the boat sails! So this is what people like about sailing...just you, the boat, the water, the wind and the satisfaction that you built it from a few pages of plans and some wood purchased at the lumber yard.Â
After about an hour of Sailing, I can now run the boat up wind, down wind, tack, and successfully get back to the dock! So Sweet!Â
Thanks to all for the posts on these boards over the last few years, which gave me inspiration and information to complete this project!Â
A special thank you to Adla for building and finishing her boat just before I started mine. She sent me pictures of her build and let me borrow her plans until mine arrived from the Stevensons. The fact that she built her boat by herself, gave me the "Belief" that I could do it too!Â
Here are a few pictures of the day.....
I was relieved actually that there was absolutely no wind for the first half of the day, so that I could get familiar with how to work the sails and not be concerned about getting blown all over the rocky shores. Yep that's right, I have not sailed before so I had to get comfortable with what I have been studying in books about sailing. One of the people that came to watch the launch said that when the wind comes up and fills the sails it will be intuitive as to how to handle the boat....he was right!! At about 4:30pm a gentle breeze picked up and that Gaffed Main filled with wind and "Lily Bean" promply responded by gracefully moving over the water with effortless pace. The tug on the main sheet line and the instant responsiveness of the tiller in my hand gave me goose bumps...I was not prepared for how proud, and energized I felt as the boat moved over the water at such speed. I love the sound of the water hitting the hull as the boat sails! So this is what people like about sailing...just you, the boat, the water, the wind and the satisfaction that you built it from a few pages of plans and some wood purchased at the lumber yard.Â
After about an hour of Sailing, I can now run the boat up wind, down wind, tack, and successfully get back to the dock! So Sweet!Â
Thanks to all for the posts on these boards over the last few years, which gave me inspiration and information to complete this project!Â
A special thank you to Adla for building and finishing her boat just before I started mine. She sent me pictures of her build and let me borrow her plans until mine arrived from the Stevensons. The fact that she built her boat by herself, gave me the "Belief" that I could do it too!Â
Here are a few pictures of the day.....
 Beautiful job and have great adventures on her.