BYYB Forums

Hello all,

Peter Stevenson has been working on another Weekender this summer and he just sent me three shots of last week's progress which I thought I'd post. Nothing too new about this one yet, but we'll see how it turns out. One change he's made is to add a lazarette hatch to make getting at the steering gear easier. A few builders have already done this and it seemed like a very good improvement. The main new thing for Peter is that this boat marks his firm commitment to epoxy now! He's so happy with how the epoxy resin performs that I doubt he'll ever go back to poly/vinylester again. He's quite happy with how the resin sands and behaves in the high temps. This summer has been quite long and hot in Texas and the epoxy has made a huge difference in workability. This is his (our) fourth Weekender and you can see a few salvaged parts (the varnished parts and the rudder box) from the last Weekender Frolic (the boat in the building video) placed around to get a little inspirational feeling of progress. This boat seems to be coming together nicely and I'm looking forward to sailing her soon. It will also be interesting to have the Super Skipjack and Weekender out together. When we built the prototype Weekender we didn't take the old Skipjack out at the same time for some reason, then when we had the later Weekenders the Skipjack wasn't around any longer. I'm curious to try them out together.

Click on the link below each pic for a larger version...


http://www.stevproj.com/MnwtrSide809.jpg


http://www.stevproj.com/MnwtrCpit809.jpg


http://www.stevproj.com/MnwtrSideTrl809.jpg

Peter's looking forward to exploring around Texas and further with his new Weekender, and I know he's planning a run to Florida and who knows where else. It'll be fun to have a boat or two to take to gatherings of our builders' machines and get a chance to sail with some of you finally!

If you have ideas of places for him to check out, or just want to get in touch about possibly getting together to sail at some point, the best way to reach him is usually by email at the mail@stevproj.com address.


I'll keep posting stuff from time-to-time as he gets closer to getting it wet.
Mike

Pretty  boat!  He can always come to Great Slave Lake for an adventure.

Florida 120 would be a great test for both boats.  Pretty area to sail, civilization for resupply and bailing out if you must, and a course that gives you opportunity to test downwind and upwind performance over a long distance.

http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/09/gath.../index.htm

Next year's event will be May 13th to 16th.

Glen-L is having another gathering of wooden boat builders in Alabama this year in October. I'll be there with the Whippoorwill and hopefully Bud will be there with Magnolia. It's a great event with lots of beautiful boats to drool over. I bet Gail would love to meet another boat designer. Come on out and sail with us!

Sounds like the Florida event is a likely one, and possibly October. I don't know if Peter's going to be ready to roll in October or not, but we'll see. It would be fun to meet the Glen-L people, as we've obviously been fans for decades.

Mike

I'm pleased that Peter adopted the transom hatch modification.  I see though that he has the same problems I did getting to to fit well.  I ended up scribing the curve of the transom on to the hatch and then using my stationary sander go shape it to match.  I hinged on the side with a latch on the opposite side.

It worked well when I needed to adjust my steering while underway - too bad I turned the turnbuckle the wrong way and everything fell apart .... 

I'm looking forward to seeing it completed and am interested in what other things he's adopted from the accumulated "wisdom" of all the recent builders.

Mike:  Can you give us a quick tutorial on the transom hatch (measurements etc.)  I plan to use one.  It means sacrificing the panel joiner at the transom.  Is that a problem?

Dave

Dave: Sure, i'd be happy to. It should be an addendum to the plans anyway. I will contact Peter and see if he can put together a page. I wasn't around to see the process, but I'd suspect the panel joiner is used while the hull and cockpit are assembled, then the hatch opening is cut and a little frame is made around the opening, then a hatch is made to go over the framing on the deck (which would keep rain, deck slop, from getting down below.)

Andrew's note about fit makes me wonder if a clever solution for fitting the hatch curve to the deck is possible. Perhaps just making the sides of the hatch a bit oversize, then shaping with a beltsander to fit the deck (as he says) is a good solution.

Mike

Thanks, Mike!  Anxiously awaiting the addendum.  Will the hatch obviate the need for deck plates on either the two sides of the lazarette or the transom deck? I think a balance between access and rigidity of the structure is needed.  With a lazarette access panel, and a transom hatch, a pair of deck plates may be too much.  Am I right?

Dave

When thinking about hatch placement, think about what it is that you'll be needing to access.  With my steering setup, it's pretty close to the design.  For me, the hatch in the middle makes sense since I have a turnbuckle there as well as the attachment point to the tiller stub.

If what you need to get at is around the edges, then a hatch/deck plate there makes sense.  For example, I've seen a steering variation that puts a turnbuckle out towards the hull side.