BYYB Forums

Hello everybody,

my name is Timo Knuuttila, but I am not the one with the pretty steam launch as someone suspected in a post. We share the name and the enthusiasm for boats, but we are two differnt persons.

I have been dreaming of a small schooner since 1987, when a Finnish magazine published an article about Bill Atkin featuring the plans of America Junior. I fell in love with the design right away.

At that time I was in m y early thirties, father of three small kids and the IT manager of a paper mill. There was no way I could have had the time to build a boat, although I knew my way with wood and woodworking tools. I had been building things with my Dad since I was five, including a couple of log houses.

I kept dreaming and used my brother´s power cruiser on holidays. I realized that America Jr was too small for my family and found nice power cruisers in Atkin´s cataloque. I also contacted John Atkin and ordered several study plans of different powecruisers, including a couple that were 39 feet to accomodate my family that had grown to four kids. Still working like crazy, no time to do much more than dreaming late at night after coming home from the office.

to be continued . . .

At some point I was without a job and there was enough time but no money!    There were a few iterations of money-but-no-time vs time-but-no-money and we ended up with an arrangement of a shared GRP power cruiser.

During those ten years I learnt that only three of my (now five) kids were actually interested in boating. But they are total boat nuts like their Dad: the worse the conditions, the darker the night the more they enjoy it. Mom is the passanger in the boat when she joins and she likes it that way  ;D

After turning fifty a couple of years ago and only having two teenagers left at home, well actually 15 and 11, I am finally in a position when I seem to have BOTH the time AND the money to build the boat. And because the number of people is reduced, I don´t need a 39 foot boat!

The schooner had haunted me all these years. After giving up the idea of the big power cruiser, because the whole family is not going to join on the cruises anyway, I started thinking even smaller than America Junior. For a while I was entertaining the idea of a Light Scooner by Bolger. But SWMBO would never set foot on such "a capsize waiting to happen" boat. Atkin´s Florence Oakland was about the size but I didn´t like it otherwise.

I had been thinking and rethinking the arrangements under deck for such a long time that I knew exactly how much room I would need. Also having done a lot of cruising with the power boat and having lived on the lake all my life ensured that when I stumbled to Paul and his design 14.11 I knew immediately that this is as close to my perfect boat as it is possible to get.

After iterating some ideas between us it seems that the changes I would want can be incorporated and now I am ready to start the glued lapstrake schooner version of the design. Because I happen to find a sizeable lot of scrap lead I will most probably start by casting the ballast first. That is if the winter doesn´t kick in before I will have everything prepared.

That was almost like a novel for an intorduction!

Now I´m off to finish the bottle of red wine before SWMBO does it alone!

Welcome aboard.  Please keep us posted on the boat build.  This started as a Stevenson's design forum, and still is for the most part, but I believe it was changed a bit ago to include any wood built boat.  I to am a fan of Paul's designs.  I would love to build one and may one day but first I have to finish the current boat I am on and then do a long honey do list the wife has been patient about.

Welcome to the BYYB mate, good to have you, we have folks to answer just about everything you could ask about building boats mate. So if you have any questions, Just fire away.
Good to meet you sir.

Brian Walters

Here is a draft what she is going to look like. The picture is originally one of the study material by Paul, but I have hacked away with it to look like my dream. I am not sure whether I should keep Paul´s trademark there to give him credits for the original or remove it to not to disgrace him with something I have totally bastardized.  :-\

The underwater profile is totally mine, based on looking at the standard draft version of Paul´s with an inboard rudder modified from the original. Even the pintels and gudgeons got copy-pasted there ;D
Anyway, this pic is posted both in my bedroom and in my office to keep me motivated.




I started a thread in the "Builders.." where I posted the first proceedings.

Welcome Timo, that's a fine looking vessel. Should keep you busy for a while building it.

Greg