BYYB Forums

Good Morning, Al. I've being following your build with great interest. Please don't give up and say,"oh well" when it comes to fixing your picture sending problem. There's a lot of interest in Autumn Leaves. I'm sure that there are many of us that are avidly following your progress. So PLEASE don't say, "oh well". WE WANT PICTURES!!!
Thanks, John

Well, Good Morning again, Al. We can see from your deleted posts yesterday that you're trying to figure out your picture posting problem. I'm a seventy-six year old addicted boat builder. I retired years ago but I couldn"t stop building boats. It has been my finding that for me (and I think most of us) boat building is at least 50% mental. Working alone in our little shops we are confronted with problems. Problem solving is one of the greatest satisfactions of our addiction. Don't you agree? Isn't it rewarding to figure out how to coax that particular piece of wood into a difficult bend that it really doesn"t want to go. I have a "Thinking Chair" close to the wood stove where I spend daily quality time "thinking". Now at my age, I sometimes include a little nap. All part of the problem solving process
My last boat was a Mayfly 14. I thought that she would my "Last Boat". Silly me. So what does a boat builder addict do when he's without a project? He looks at boat plans. A few years ago I built a little East Port Pram from CLC. And a few months ago I visited their web site. And there was Autumn Leaves. And I, like you, fell in love. She's the most beautiful box I've ever seen. I was thrilled. I couldn't sleep. And I said to myself, "I think I've found my "Last Boat". I bought the plans and started searching the web for more information. Last month I stumbled upon your story. I've never built a prototype boat before. It's kind of a risky business. Like working without a net. So your text and pictures have been a real help and encouragement to me.
So, in conclusion, I want encourage you to endure and solve your picture posting problem. I'm sure that there are many of us that are eagerly awaiting your next post and pictures. And finally seeing your completed dream under sail or quietly resting on the hook in some lovely cove. We admire your work. Boat building ain't easy. If it was, everybody would do it.
Peace, Brother
John

Everything you say is true, Lucky.  However, I have always had a very slight sensitivity to epoxy and I am afraid it has finally after eight solid years of boat building, caught up with me.  Autumn Leaves will truly be my last build.  Sailing, maintaining and refining my three boats will easily satisfy my need to be in the shop, but I will abandon completely epoxy.  Over my entire lifetime, I have always pushed the limits of (conventional wisdom) and thereby learned its true worth for myself.  I am very confident in my skills because of that and have every reason to think I can still build something useful if I need to.  I will never be without a weekender.

Anyway, if you want a boat that will occupy your time while not killing you in the process, I can highly recommend Autumn Leaves.

Al