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I'm 68 and not exactly the man I used to be.  I am perfectly happy to end up  my sailing career with my weekender, but I just needed another build to keep me  busy.  I selected autumn leaves because she looked like something I could live in for long periods of time while not being too big.  She was also a mystery to me.  I have a lifetime in canoes, but never considered sailing a big one.  I have a sailing canoe that is also the result of needing something to do, which is tons of fun especially in higher winds.  I also expect to further my sailing education by learning how to singlehand a yawl. 

If I had the time, I would love to ship Indie to Europe and tour around in her.  With the ability to drop the rig quickly, I think she would be ideal for canal work.

Al

(03-27-2018, 03:13 AM)Al Stead Wrote: [ -> ]If I had the time, I would love to ship Indie to Europe and tour around in her.  With the ability to drop the rig quickly, I think she would be ideal for canal work.

I have been dreaming of the Canal du Midi for quite some time (I have some plans here for an electric canal boat) and you are correct, Autumn Leaves is perfect for that! A flexible PV panel or two and a Torqueedo electric outboard (you can find them second hand here now) and away you go!

Well, I have been chugging along, and there is some progress to show, so here we go. 

I have been primarily working on the steering and the cabin hatch.  The steering required me to go to town for hardware, so I tried to gather it all at the same time.  When I say go to town, I also mean order stuff from Duckworks.  This go around I ordered gudgeons that were specially made for weekenders and are sold in a set.  I had to add one more pair because I want to be able to trailer with the rudder hanging on the boat.  I now have the rudder, which weighs less than the rudder assembly on my weekender, hung on three sets of gudgeons, so it shouldn't fall off on our rough roads.   It was a bit of a project because they all had to line up and hang equally so that all the pairs were supporting some of the load. 

After I got the rudder swinging freely, I had to attach it to the tiller.  This was also a bit of a project by itself.  The way the steering is placed in the cockpit, it will hit the mast box on the port side which limits the range of motion when the tiller is moved to port.  To limit that, I carved the actuator arm into somewhat of a comma to clear a bit further back.  I have it now at a point that I think the rudder will stall if I throw it that far over, so probably no big deal.  Probably the toughest part of this process is locating the hole where the connecting rod penetrates the hull.  I located two pieces of dowel on the same plane as the two actuator arms as well as I could to meet at the hull and drilled a hole big enough to stick it through.  Not even close.  I was about an inch too high.  I carved a slot down from the pilot hole until the rod was centered through the mountings on the actuator rod and then starting moving along sideways toward the ends.  I originally thought that this sideways hole wouldn't be too long, but soon found out that it would be much longer than I was comfortable with.  It is not quite long enough still at about seven inches.  Quite the gaping wound.  It would drive me crazy to leave a wound like this in the side of my boat so I will hang a rubber curtain over the hole with downturned  ends to keep rain or boarding waves out, mostly.  I had to buy a three foot X 3/8 inch threaded rod for the connecting rod to finish up the whole thing.  I used two lock nuts to finish up and adjust the final connection.  I would have liked to use stainless rod with threads on each end, but that can wait for later.  

I learned on this particular build that perfectly square angles and true dimensions are critical, especially when it comes to the cabin hatch.  My bulkhead 5 had a bit of a curve that I ignored, figuring that I could massage it back into shape later.  I could in fact do that, but in the process of building the surrounding structures, I let some angles get distorted and that screwed me to death.  I should have braced the heck out of bulkhead 5 during the whole build.  Don't get scared now.  It is possible to make it all work out, but you will pay the devil doing it.  I will make this right, but not until next winter. What it boils down to is the hatch boards don't match up to the top of the sliding hatch tight enough to keep the cabin dry in the rain.  Plus, it looks crappy.  I like this old fashioned hatch, but it doesn't fall in the category of construction, it is cabinetry.  I'm licking my chops anticipating doing this work next winter. 

I have rough cut the mizzen mast, and it will also be replaced next winter.  It weighs a ton.  I used a couple pine 2X4's to laminate it up and it came nice and straight.  I will pare it down as far as I dare for this summer, but birds mouth will be its ultimate fate.  The same will be the fate of the main mast.  I'll just throw one together for this summer, and a nice birds mouth for next year.  I searched the neterweb for ideas on tabernacles and now I have a pretty solid plan that will be all steel and very simple to make and somewhat attractive. 

I will definitively have the boat fully assembled by the end of the month.  I might not have her done and rigged until summer though.  It looks like winter won't leave until mid June this year.  I will need at least a month outdoors to finish up. Dang!  Lucky for you guys though, I'll be posting more boat porn until then.

Al

If it was me, I'd trim that ax handle down on the hand holder end and put a 2" ball or something more nautical looking there. Looks like 1/4" plate for the tiller cheeks, which will be nice a stiff. Again, I'd trim those pieces tight, maybe a swoopy curve or two and buff the crap out of them. It's easy and looks really nice too. Maybe a nice place for a logo, possibly etched into the plates?

[attachment=1724]

Some rudder details on one of mine. A hiking stick, with a length of 1/4" cord around the end, so it's soft on the hand. The hiking stick, matches the tiller profile, so it's nice and tight. The end of the tiller has a ball on it, which I find most comfortable. I used a little aluminum plate on this too and eventually etched my logo on the point at the back. Just aft of the ball is more 1/4" cord wrapped around the tiller. No glue, just two tacks, one at each end to hold it. The tacks can be pulled and the cord replaced or simply washed and reinstalled.

Thanks Paul, that is one pretty steerer. 

Next winter I will entertain all the dressup ideas I can find. 

 As I get closer to daylight day, I find myself cutting some corners so that I can go sailing without fiddling around.  I just came in from shaping the mizzen mast.  It is not anywhere near the workmanship I want to have, but  it is ready for varnish.  Now I hope it makes it to fall.  The only stick I need to build is the main mast.  I am not finished deciding its'  shape and length.  Because it will carry a gaff sail I have to figure out how high above the taught luff and gaff to make it to give the sail the force I need to shape the sail properly.  But, before that I have to find out the dimensions of the sail.   

Anyway, all this gives me something to think about when I wake up in the morning.

Al

There is a little play in the system, but only because I have the wrong size bolt holding the actuator arm to the pipe.  The tie rod is held in place with two lock nuts on each end that make fine adjustments possible and take any play out of that part of the system. 

During the  build I considered doing extensive bracing of bulkhead 5 multiple times.  I figured that I could massage things into good shape at the end, but I was wrong.  The fix for my mistake is a bit fussy, but in the end it will be invisible.  I guess my point is don't lose your square.  Keep it with you at all times on this build. 

Al

Thanks Al for your photos and detailed descriptions of your build. I appreciate your candid way of describing your progress, with the inevitable moments of "one step forward, two steps back" we've all experienced. I find myself dreaming at times of ghosting into one of the many mud-bottomed bays in our neck of the woods aboard her, quietly rowing past all the others anchored deeper, and dropping the hook in the peace and quiet at the head of a bay. Looking forward to more!

I once sailed with a guy who had a bolger double ended open sailboat at a messabout.  That boat was shaped  substantially like autumn leaves.  He could move right along in virturally no wind at all.  J Harris expects Autumn Leaves to do pretty well for itself in light wind.  I'm looking forward to ghosting along in a setting sun breeze as a matter of regular course.  And with all those sails to play with, I also expect to get up into the sporting winds before having to give up. 

Al

I have a few bits that are new, so I thought I would do an update.

First I have come to the conclusion that I won't be ready for the messabout.  Instead I will bring Duckie with the hope either another weekender or a pocketship will show up.  I like having another gaffer at the messabout, so we will see.

As of now, the boat is assembled.  I am finishing up glassing the cockpit which is the last place that needs it.  All of the other necessary parts of the boat itself are done.  I have decided to hinge the forward hatch cover in the front.  I will devise a way to get it to lay flat on the bowsprit, and latch it from the inside.  By doing this I will have access to the mast step and the bowsprit parts that may need to be dealt with while standing in bed.  Also, the cover won't fly up on the highway at speed. 

I shaped the mizzen and mounted it in the tabernacle with a clamp to determine where I need to put the swivel pin so that it will clear the cabin top when lowered for trailering.  I'm glad I left the sides of the tabernacle at their full height, because I need all of it.  I also glued up the whole structure and found that it is quite strudy.  In order to do that I also had to glue the back board for the coamings which also acts as the foot stop for the mizzen.  Now that I have done that, the apparatus that I am going to secure my sticks and rags when driving is coming together in my mind. 

I am getting ready to fabricate the mast step after I get the glassing done.  I have the steel on hand and some more.  I am not really a competent welder, but I have gotten by so far.  If it turns out that I am afraid of my own work, I will find a fabrication shop and have it built new.  Basically, it is a one square foot of 1/4 inch plate, 16 inches of 3 inch channel and some 1 X 3/16 bar.  I found the design on the  web.  The fore deck should be strong enough to deal with it.  I guess we'll see. 

To get ready for that, I built the mainsail gooseneck.  I used the design that I found in the weekender plan book. It has worked so well on duckie that I can't see why I wouldn't use it again.  This time the only thing I did different is make it of slightly heavier materials.  In the pic of it you can see that the boom side straps are a little spalted.  They have been laying around in my iron scraps for a couple years and took on that interesting texture.  They are not rotted, just a little surface rust.  I might change them out quickly, but I like the look of them all polished up like that. 

Right now, she is sitting in the easy  boat oven for the night.  Man, if I didn't have that, I would have had to stop last Oct.

Al

Actually, that is both of them together.